My family, your family
by AusllyTraceObsessed98
Summary: Austin Moon is a single father of two. Ally Dawson is a single mom with a young daughter. What happens when they cross paths? Have they finally found who they are looking for? Or is this romance not meant to be? Read to find out. T, may veer into M for mature content and language. AU as always.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hi, everyone! Sorry I haven't been posting too much. I've just been having horrible writer's block. How have you all been doing? I'm doing great- I'm starting college very soon. My plan is to start at community college and after 2 or 3 years I want to transfer to a 4-year university and study health care tech. I also applied for a job that I pray that I get because I want to earn some money while I'm in college. But I still hope and pray that I'll still be able to write and create stories for all of you. And just because I'm going to college doesn't mean my inner child will ever disappear ;) :) Enough of my rambling, Here's _My family, your family!_**

AUSTIN:

I was in my car, driving home from my job, (For a living, I was a general contractor) when I was getting a phone call from my thirteen-year-old daughter, Jessica. I answered and I said,

"Hi, princess."

Jessica asked me,

"Dad, how far away are you?"

I said,

"About fifteen minutes. Why?"

"Can you buy me some pads?"

"What kind of pads?"

"For my period. I got my period today."

I giggled.

"Congratulations."

"Not funny, Dad,"

my daughter grumbled.

"I'm sorry. Yeah, I have to go pick up your brother's ADHD pills anyway. I'll be home in like fifteen minutes with your pads. How heavy is your flow?"

"It's pretty heavy."

"OK. See you at home."

"Bye, Dad."

I hung up and went into Walgreens to search for pads. By the way, I was Austin Moon and I was thirty-three years old. I lived in the suburbs and I was a single dad with twins- I had Max and Jessica, who were thirteen. Jessica was the older twin, Max was the younger twin. My kids completely contrasted in their personalities- Max was goofy, fun-loving, impulsive, energetic and hyperactive (After all, he had ADHD. Even though he had it mild), while Jessica was more quiet, a little self-conscious, a little passive-aggressive and at times, she was kind of melodramatic and very stubborn. But my daughter was far from heartless and she was caring, affectionate and sweet to the people who mattered to her.

My kids squabbled quite a bit- Max thought Jessica was bossy and uptight, and Jessica thought Max was annoying and gross. But I knew deep down they loved each other. Piper was my ex-wife and Jessica and Max's mother. We had divorced when the twins were eleven because we weren't happy together, but we still maintained a healthy relationship in spite of that.

I parked and locked my car, and I walked in and I found thick pads immediately (a bag with ninety-six of them) and I got in line to grab Max's pills when I accidentally bumped into this woman. She asked me,

"Would you watch where you're going?"

I made eye contact with her and I discovered how attractive she was. She had dark brown hair with gorgeous blonde highlights, styled into a pin-straight lob hairstyle with long layers and it reached just below her shoulders, she had large brown doe eyes, she had just the right amount of makeup on and she was in pink and red scrubs with flowers and Ariel and Flounder from _The Little Mermaid_ and she was in plain red scrub pants. We shared a smile and I said,

"I'm so sorry, madam."

"It's totally fine, don't worry about it."

I picked up her pink and gold Chanel handbag and I said,

"Here. Aren't you a princess, carrying around a Chanel handbag?"

She giggled.

"May I say, I've never seen a man carry a pack of pads around before."

I said,

"They're for my daughter. She's thirteen and got her first period and asked me to buy her some."

She giggled.

"You're a good dad. My name is Althea Dawson, but everyone calls me Ally."

She offered me her hand, which was beautifully illuminated by bright red nail polish. I accepted her hand and firmly grasped it.

"I'm Austin Moon. So, why are you in line for the pharmacy?"

Ally said,

"I'm getting medicine for my daughter. She has asthma and had a very big flare up last night and ended up in the ER and I discovered I was out so I'm getting her more meds."

I said,

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Me too. She was born four weeks premature and she was diagnosed with asthma when she was two. She's six now. She's got some triggers, including cold weather, mold, dust, chemical fumes, pollutants, tobacco smoke, tree pollen, bugs and strong odors. Anyway, why are you in line?"

I said,

"I'm getting my son's pills."

"So you have two kids?"

I said,

"Yup. I have thirteen-year-old twins. One's a boy, one's a girl. Their mom and I prefer to keep him on his pills because they help him concentrate and help him stay still. He's not aggressive or hot-tempered, he just has trouble concentrating and he's very hyper and impulsive."

"So he has ADHD?"

"Yeah, he was diagnosed with it when he was five. He's improving a lot. I mean, he has his moments, but he's improved drastically since his diagnosis."

"That's great. I'm an RN at a pediatrician's office, what do you do?"

I said,

"I'm a general contractor. I typically work four or five days a week, from nine to five. Do you know how gorgeous you are?"

She giggled.

"I haven't heard any guy call me beautiful in such a long time."

I asked,

"You don't have a husband?"

I thought, _Yes! She's not married_. Because I was starting to develop feelings for her.

She said,

"No, but there was the guy who got me pregnant with my daughter. He did a lot of things that hurt me and I broke up with him."

I felt really sorry for Ally.

"Aw, I'm so sorry. I've only just met you, Ally, and I like you. You seem really nice and you're so beautiful."

"Thank you, Austin. You're very nice. Do you think your wife would be alright if we went out sometime?"

I said,

"Oh no, I'm a single dad. And I'd love to meet you for drinks or coffee sometime. Can I get your number?"

"Only if I can have yours!"

Ally reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. I punched my number into it and she gave me hers. We had to decide whether to handshake or to hug and so we decided on both. I drove home, carrying the bag with Jessica's pads and Max's pills and I saw Max, laying on the couch, playing video games.

I said,

"Hey, son."

Max looked up from his video game.

"Hey, dad. Where were you?"

I said,

"I was at the drugstore. I was buying your sister pads and I was getting your pills. You told me you were running low on them and she said she got her period."

"Oh yeah. So that's why she's acting like a bitch. It all makes sense now."

I said to him,

"Max, didn't I tell you not to use that word?"

Max protested,

"But you use it. Hell, even my friends use it."

I sighed.

"I guess I can't argue with that. But it's not your sister's fault she's going through puberty."

He said,

"By the way, I'm sprouting hair on my penis and my voice is getting deeper and I'm starting to think girls are hot."

I said,

"Have you done all your homework? Max, you know the rule, no screens until you're done with homework."

Max said to me,

"I have no homework."

I asked,

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. One hundred percent honest."

"OK. Where's your sister?"

"In her room,"

My son said.

 _Figures_ , I thought. Jessica spent a lot of time in her room. I understood it was normal for a growing girl to want her privacy, but I didn't want her to feel like she couldn't talk to me. I heard her through the door saying,

"I got my period today. It's the worst. I had stomach cramps and backaches and I had a big noticeable blood stain on my favorite jeans. What made it worse was most of the kids were laughing at me."

I knocked on the door and I heard my daughter say,

"Oh, that's Dad. He has pads for me. Bye, Mom. I miss you."

"Bye, Mom."

Jessica said,

"Come in."

I came into her bedroom and she flipped over on her side where she could see me. She was curled up in a fetal position. She had on a light blue spaghetti strap tank top and her light pink bra straps were visible through it, light blue pajama pants with pink roses on it, and her underarm long pin-straight blonde hair, that matched mine, was tied in a high ponytail. She had Mickey/Minnie Mouse post earrings in. She sat up wearing a pink Little Mermaid blanket around her shoulders. I said,

"Hi, Jessica. I got you some pads."

She said,

"Thanks, Dad."

I sat on her bed beside her.

"You've been off lately. Is there anything bothering you?"

My daughter looked at me skeptically.

"You were eavesdropping on me talking to Mom about getting my first period, weren't you?"

"I kind of was. I'm really sorry, Princess."

I had been calling Jessica "Princess" since she was little. Jessica hugged me and said to me,

"And I'm sorry I've been taking it out on you, Dad. It's just growing up is a confusing time."

I kissed my daughter on the top of her head.

"I get it. Growing up was hard for me, too."

Jessica hugged me and I hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.

"It seems to be easy for Max, though. He's always so happy-go-lucky and he acts like life is great."

"That doesn't mean your life can't be the same. All you have to do is just be yourself and be kind to your family and friends."

Jessica tightly embraced me.

"Dad, I may not always show it, but I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. I've loved you and Max since the day you were born."

 **First chapter down! Next chapter, we'll get to see Ally's family dynamic. If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Love and hugs for all of you :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**ALLY:**

That Austin man I met at the drugstore today was very nice. He was so handsome as well. When I met him, I felt like a teenager talking to their crush for the first time. I hadn't been in love since David, my ex-boyfriend who got me pregnant with Sofia, my six-year-old daughter. Raising a six-year-old asthmatic could get pretty tough, but I didn't want her growing up with a father who was on the sex offender registry, had a history of DUIs and had substance abuse issues. It was so tough raising Sofia that my mother Penny actually lived with me.

It was actually a win-win when my mom moved in with me. Six years ago, my mom was having financial troubles due to having a very expensive hernia surgery, and I needed someone to help me raise my daughter. I opened the door to my apartment and I saw Sofia fast asleep with her head in my mom's lap, her tiny diamond stud earrings were glistening a little bit, in her little pink pajamas with Princess Aurora from _Sleeping Beauty_ and her stuffed cat and teddy bear in her arms. My mom was gently rubbing Sofia's dark brown wavy hair.

I whispered,

"Hello,"

because I didn't want to wake Sofia up. My mom said,

"Hi, sweetie."

I said,

"Hi, Mom. How's this one?"

My mom chuckled.

"She's alright. I gave her a breathing treatment and some water and then she just fell asleep."

I said,

"I'll be right back. I'm going to change my clothes and take my makeup off."

I got into my room and I changed out of my scrubs and into a white tank top where my pink bra was visible, white and black poplin plaid pajama pants and I put on white furry slippers. I splashed cold water on my face and wiped my face with a makeup wipe and dried my face. I tied my pin straight lob hairstyle into a high ponytail and said to my mom,

"I hate to work when Sofia is sick or has asthma attacks, but I have to put a roof over her head. Thanks for watching her, Mom."

"You're welcome, Ally. How was work?"

"It was fine."

For a living, I worked as a nurse in a pediatrician's office. I worked with kids up to twenty-one years old, I pricked fingers, I gave shots, I took vital signs, I administered medication, I tended to cuts, scrapes, wounds, and abrasions, I went over health history, what you would expect a registered nurse to do. Sofia gently stirred from my mom's lap and proceeded to rub her large brown eyes. I whispered,

"Hey, baby girl."

And I kissed her on the forehead.

"You feeling any better?"

"I'm fine, Mommy. Grandma took care of me."

"Mommy loves Grandma. Mommy has your medicine. I should give it to you with dinner, though."

My mom said,

"Speaking of dinner, I've already started it. There's some Quiche in the oven, with tater tots because the little one loves her tater tots."

Sofia was not a fussy eater. She'd eat pretty much anything.

"Anything for my daughter and granddaughter. You're obviously exhausted from working and worrying about your daughter all day."

"You're right, Mom. I am. But I did have at least one good thing happen today. I was in line at the pharmacy to get Sofia's medicine and I met this super nice guy. He was buying pads for his daughter and getting his son's ADHD medication and we hit it off immediately."

My mom said,

"That's great, honey. I hope this man treats you with more respect than David did."

"Well, I thought David really liked me. Then I found out he was cheating me with fifteen-year-old girls working as hookers and he was getting DUIs left and right. I don't want Sofia growing up with a man on the sex offender registry."

"You did the right thing. For yourself, and for your daughter. So what's the man you just met like?"

I said,

"Oh, he's very nice and very cute. When I met him, I felt like I was a teenager in high school again crushing on a boy."

My mom laughed.

"You were so boy-crazy when you were in high school. You and Trish would be up all night talking about boys and I had to keep coming in to tell you two to go to bed."

Trish De La Rosa was my best friend. We had known each other since we were five years old and we met in kindergarten. We went to Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College and Graduate school together. We even worked at the same place as registered nurses. She lived an ideal circumstance- she was married to her high school sweetheart, Jace Dillon (In fact, she was the first one in her Hispanic-catholic family to marry a white man) and they had three children- Alanna, who was thirteen, Gabriel, or "Gabe", who was ten and Isabella, who was seven. Isabella was one grade ahead of Sofia and they went to the same school.

"I remember that. I can't believe we've known each other for over a quarter of a century. Anyway, I got his number and he said he wanted to have coffee or drinks with me sometime,"

I said as I reached into the fridge and pulled out the bottle of chardonnay and a champagne glass and my mom was pouring herself a glass of chardonnay. I took Sofia's plastic pink cup with Cinderella on it and filled it with water.

"That's wonderful, sweetheart."

"Yeah, I haven't been in love for a long time. I forgot what it felt like. Until I met this guy, that is."

I chuckled as I grabbed plates from the cupboard- two glass ones, and Sofia's plate with Aurora, Belle, Cinderella and Snow White. My daughter was absolutely besotted with Disney Princess. I was when I was a child as well, and I was happy to pass on that love down to her. I tore open her packaged salbutamol and filled her inhaler with it. I called,

"Sofia Rose?"

Rose was Sofia's middle name. I often used it when I was calling her.

"Coming, Mommy!"

I heard her call. She let out a few coughs. It was always disheartening for me to hear my daughter coughing. So disheartening that I kept her baby monitor in her room at night so I could hear her coughing so I could tend to her if she needed anything.

I said,

"Mommy needs to give you your medicine before you eat."

Sofia nodded.

"OK."

I got down to her height, shook her inhaler and attached the spacer to it. I said,

"Breathe in,"

She breathed in.

"Breathe out,"

I told her to breathe in and breathe out nine more times and then I asked her,

"Are you good?"

"Yeah,"

I said,

"That's what Mommy likes to hear."

I kissed my daughter's forehead.

"Come on, Sofia, let's go eat."

"OK."

My mom served dinner, Quiche with tomatoes and asparagus, tater tots and carrot sticks. I turned to my daughter.

"Do you need me to cut your quiche for you?"

She said,

"Yes please, Mama."

I picked up my knife and my fork and cut my daughter's quiche and she picked up her fork and proceeded to eat. My mom asked,

"Do you like the quiche, sweetheart?"

Sofia said,

"Yeah. It's yummy."

I said,

"She's not a picky eater. She'll eat anything."

Sofia picked up her fork and started eating her quiche. I took another sip of wine and looked at my daughter.

"How has she been, Mom?"

"She had a few coughing spells here and there, but I just gave her some water and put her in front of the nebulizer and she was fine."

I said,

"Poor thing. Because last night and this morning were very frightening for me and for Grandma."

"Me too, Mama. I couldn't breathe."

"Mommy and Grandma are very glad you're OK, now."

I said,

"But for a bright spot today, Trish sends her love for you and she feels bad that you had to go to the ER today."

"It's not Trish's fault,"

Sofia said as she took a sip of her water from her cup and I chuckled.

"You're so cute. It doesn't have to be someone's fault for them to feel bad for you."

After we were done with dinner, I decided to have a little snuggle with Sofia. She was six, but I still thought of her as a baby sometimes. She snuggled up against me and I kissed her forehead.

"You ready to go back to school tomorrow, baby girl?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sure your friends missed you and were worried about you."

She snuggled closer to me. I said,

"Mommy loves you. Because you're the sweetest, most beautiful little girl I know. You're my baby girl and you always will be."

"I love you too, Mama."

"You know, I went to the store to get your medicine, and I met this really sweet guy. I told him about you, and he wants to meet you."

"He might be my Daddy?"

"Mommy wants him to be your Daddy. But Sofia, a Mommy and a Daddy aren't just people who give birth to you, or who look like you. They're people that love you, protect you and nurture you. Like what I do with you, and what Grandma does with me and still does with me."

 **Second chapter down! I hope you guys like the story! If you do, remember to favorite, follow and review! So excited to go to my family reunion tomorrow. Have an awesome day my readers :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AUSTIN:**

Piper sent me a text on my phone saying,

"Austin, I'm a few minutes away. Tell the children."

I texted,

"OK,"

I saw Max and Jessica sitting on the sofa, both on their phones. I said,

"Kids,"

they both looked up from their phones.

"Your mom's gonna be here in a few minutes. Are you ready?"

They said to me,

"Yes, dad."

I said,

"Max, don't forget your pills."

Max picked up the pill bottle that was on the arm of the sofa.

"Got them right here, Dad,"

"Good."

I walked out of the living room and I heard Jessica sniff a little bit and ask,

"Max?"

"Huh?"

"When was the last time you took a shower?"

Max said,

"Umm, 4 days ago."

Jessica said,

"Please, Max, do me a favor, do yourself a favor, and do the people around you a favor, take a shower tonight or better yet, after we get to Mom's. Mom said we're going to this restaurant with this guy who asked her out."

"You're not Mom."

The doorbell rang and I answered it. My ex-wife was standing on my porch and she was clutching a gold purse. I said,

"Hi, Piper,"

and I kissed her cheek.

"Hello, Austin,"

she said to me and she kissed me on my cheek.

"How have you been?"

"I guess I've been OK. What about you?"

"I'm good. I was at the drugstore getting some stuff for the kids the other day and I met this gorgeous woman."

"Right, Jessica called me saying she got her period. What's your crush's name?"

"Her name's Ally."

"I met someone online, too. His name is Richard. He's a rich car entrepreneur. We've been seeing each other for two weeks and he gave this to me as a gift. I'm taking the kids to dinner with him tonight because I want them to get to know him."

"That's a good idea. I want them to get to know Ally, too. Sounds like a keeper. I'd love to meet him."

I was about to call the kids when they came to the front door with their bags and Piper's face lit up when she saw the kids. Both kids were hugging either side of her and she kissed the top of their heads. She looked at Max and Jessica and she was looking at their faces.

"My beautiful daughter and my handsome son. Max, tonight we're going to dinner with Richard. You don't have to dress up, but please take a shower when we come home. Your hair smells like cheese."

"Yes, Mom,"

Max agreed.

Jessica said to him,

"That's what I said, too, Mom. But on an unrelated note, can I get my hair and nails done for tonight?"

Piper smiled at her.

"Sure, sweetie."

For a living, Piper was a cosmetologist. She worked at The Color Palette, a high-end salon that did nails, hair and makeup. She could do anything with beauty. I said,

"You kids have fun with your mom and Richard."

The kids each hugged me and I kissed them. I kissed Piper on her cheek again and she kissed mine.

"Goodbye, Piper."

"Goodbye, Austin."

Piper and I shared custody of the kids- we would hand off every few weeks so we would each get a chance to spend time with them. Just then I got a text from Ally. It said,

"Hello."

I texted back,

"Hello gorgeous."

She texted,

"Lol you're adorable. Listen, I know this is short notice, but are you free tonight?"

I texted,

"Yup. My kids are with their Mom."

"Great. I kind of thought you could come over for drinks and I can order some Panda Express."

"I love Panda Express. What's your address?"

"17600 NW 5th Avenue 33169."

I texted,

"Thanks, Ally. Can't wait. What time do you want me over by?"

I thought since Ally was generous enough to invite me over, I should give her something.

"I like 6:00."

I said,

"I'll be over at 6:00."

Four hours later, it was five o' clock. I had showered, changed my clothes, combed back my hair (Speaking of my hair, maybe I was due to get my hair cut again. I got my hair cut every six weeks) and I skipped the cologne because I remembered Ally's daughter had asthma and I didn't want to trigger her asthma in case her daughter was there, too. I decided to surprise her with roses as well.

I finally reached Ally's house and I rang the doorbell. The door was opened by a little girl and she had on a little gold tiara with Belle from _Beauty and the beast_ on it and it was decorated with red plastic roses and yellow and gold beads and small gold ball stud earrings. She smiled at me and she said,

"Hi."

I gasped because she was so adorable and I brought the tone of my voice up because she was adorable.

"Hi. What's your name?"

She said to me,

"I'm Sofia. And I'm six."

"You're six?"

"Yeah. I'm six."

She coughed into her elbow a little. Ally walked over.

"Hi."

I smiled,

"Hey, Ally."

"These are for you."

Ally's face lit up and it ultimately made her even more beautiful.

"Thank you, Austin. And I can see you've met my daughter."

I chuckled.

"Yes, I have. And she's adorable,"

I got down to Sofia's level and she kissed me on the cheek.

"You're being so nice to my Mommy,"

she said to me.

"I like your Mommy. And I think I like you, too."

I stood up and Ally asked me,

"Do you want me to show you around the house?"

"Sure."

Ally put the roses I had given her in a nearby vase. We stopped in the den of the house where Ally's daughter was right beside a middle aged woman with a glass of water in her hands. She stood up and Ally said,

"Hi, Mom. This is the guy who I've been telling you about. Austin, this is my mother, Penny. Mom, this is Austin."

Penny was obviously very excited to meet me.

"Hi, Austin. You're very handsome."

"Thank you. You're beautiful."

"I like you already."

She turned to Sofia.

"Sweetie, why don't you go find some shoes and jacket? Mommy and Austin need their time together."

"OK. Can I still wear my tiara?"

"Sure."

Sofia walked off to do that.

"While you two lovemuffins are having your alone time, I'm taking Sofia to the mall to grab a bite to eat and to buy a birthday present for Liam."

Ally said,

"Liam is my sister April's son. His birthday is coming up, he's turning eleven."

"Cool. What does he like?"

Ally's mom chuckled.

"He loves video games, remote control toys, he loves music, to name a few."

I chuckled.

"He'd get along really well with my son."

She laughed and Sofia emerged from another room in a blue denim jacket, white sandals and with a small pink furry poodle backpack. Ally whispered to Penny,

"She has her inhaler, right?"

Penny asked,

"Sofia, you have your inhaler, right?"

"Yes, grandma. It's in my backpack."

She said compliantly.

"You ready to go, sweetheart?"

"Yeah!"

Penny took Sofia's hand. Ally looked at her daughter and said,

"You have fun with Grandma, missy miss."

She kissed her daughter on the cheek and Sofia giggled. I said,

"Bye-bye, munchkin. Maybe next time I hang out with your Mommy, you can come, too. I'd love for you to meet my kids."

Sofia kissed me on the cheek again.

"That'd be fun,"

Sofia said to me with a cheeky smile. Ally's daughter had just stolen my heart.

Ally's mom hugged me and left the house, closing the door behind her. Ally asked me,

"You want me to continue showing you around?"

"Sure."

Ally opened a door with that said _Sofia_ in hot pink letters and cute little Disney Princess and Minnie Mouse stickers.

"This is Sofia's room."

Sofia's room was adorable- lots of little toys and games and lots of very elegant furniture, including a big bed decorated with gorgeousbedding and it was loaded with stuffed animals, artwork and coloring pages on the walls. On Sofia's dresser were a fairy jewelry/music box with little necklaces, bracelets and rings and a rainbow colored flower jewelry holder.

"She's like a little princess."

Ally giggled.

"That's one way to describe her."

I remembered when Jessica used to love Princessy stuff.

"My daughter has a blanket with Ariel from _The Little Mermaid_ on it. She might be thirteen now, but I know she's still kind of a little girl at heart. Sofia's still young so enjoy it because it goes fast."

Ally giggled.

"I'll take your word for it."

We exited Sofia's room and she showed me her room, the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, her mom's room, the guest room/office and the home gym. I said,

"I love your home, Ally. It's so comfortable."

She said,

"Thank you. My mom lives with me and we share the rent and the bills. My parents divorced when I was nine years old, and while I was pregnant with Sofia, my mom had hernia surgery and it was getting harder for her to pay for her house and her bills, so I had her move in with me. It was a win-win, I was a single mother-to-be who would need help with the baby, and we both share the rent."

I asked her,

"I know that you're an RN, but what does your mom do?"

"She is a wildlife biologist, and she teaches nature studies at University of Miami to undergraduate college students."

I followed her into her dining room, where the table was decorated with candles. Ally asked me,

"Do you want me to get you a drink? I have Chardonnay, Rosé, Sangria, Champagne and I have beer."

I said,

"I guess I'm in the mood for some Chardonnay."

"Alright."

Ally took two wine glasses and found the new bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge. I found a cork just laying out on the corner.

"My mother and I love our wine. Within two weeks, we have the bottles empty."

I laughed. Ally walked over with a Panda Express pamphlet and asked me,

"Austin, what do you want me to order you?"

I said,

"I think I'd like a medium Kung Pao Chicken."

She smiled.

"OK."

I saw her take her phone out from the pocket of her medium wash jeans. She said,

"Hi, can I get a medium Kung Pao Chicken and a medium String Bean Chicken Breast. Great. Thanks."

I opened the bottle with the cork and she poured us some wine. I just couldn't get over how beautiful she looked amid the lit candles. I whispered,

"You're so beautiful."

She giggled.

"Thank you."

 **More on the date next chapter! OMG I start college on Monday I can't believe it! Wish me luck! If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Love you all!**


	4. Chapter 4

**ALLY:**

I was about to open the bottle of Chardonnay when Austin put his hand on the corkscrew, where my hand was already, and we looked into each other's eyes. His eyes were adorable and reminded me of a puppy. He was grinning at me. I asked him,

"Are you checking me out while I'm about to open a bottle of wine?"

Austin laughed.

"Who wouldn't wanna look at you? You're beautiful."

I blushed.

"You're too sweet."

I heard the doorbell ring.

"That's our food."

I found my wallet in my blue Vera Wang purse by the door and I said,

"Hi."

The delivery guy said to me,

"Hello, you're Althea Dawson, correct?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Your total is $30.95."

I handed him a twenty dollar bill, a ten dollar bill and a five dollar bill and he handed me the change. He gave me the change and I put the change in my wallet and I rejoined my date again. He handed me a glass of chardonnay with ice cubes. Austin mocked a British accent and said to me,

"Here you go, madam."

I laughed.

"You're so funny, Austin. And in return-"

I handed Austin the container with the Kung Pao Chicken.

"Thanks."

I sat down across from Austin and he took a forkful of his food.

"I've missed eating at Panda Express. I couldn't go there for a while because when she was five, my daughter Jessica developed a peanut allergy and they use peanuts in a lot of their food."

I took a forkful of my food and chewed and swallowed.

"How bad? Because peanut allergies are often serious."

I took another forkful of my food.

"My twins were five, and their mom and I bought chinese food for dinner one night and later that night, Jessica woke us both up telling us that she was itchy and that she was throwing up and we had to bring her to the ER because we were unsure of how serious she was. We brought her to an allergist every year and then she got over her allergy when she was eleven."

"So happy that she's over her allergy. I bring Sofia to one every year. She has asthma but her only triggers are dust, mold, fumes, strong odors, tobacco smoke and cold weather. She doesn't react to any foods or to pet dander. I have to take her to her doctor every three months."

Austin took another bite of his food.

"Aw, poor thing. Your daughter is so adorable."

"Thank you. I'm very anxious to meet your kids, too."

Austin smiled.

"Max and Jessica are with their mom meeting her new boyfriend. She wanted them to get to know him. Just like how I want them to get to know you. If you do meet them, I have to warn you, they cross words a lot."

I laughed.

"What siblings don't? When my sister and I were younger, we would argue sometimes. My sister is older than me and I would annoy the living hell out of her. But when she left for college when I was twelve, I was pretty damn close to inconsolable."

Austin said to me,

"I have an older brother, Randy, and when we were younger, we would argue. I would annoy the living shit out of him, pardon my french, and he would strike out at me. But when he left for the army after graduating from High School early, his first week in the military was the saddest week of my life. We did fight a lot, but we love each other. He was the shoulder, or one of the shoulders, I cried on when I divorced Piper."

He pulled his wallet out and showed me a picture of a very handsome blonde boy with large brown eyes and a blonde quiff hairstyle in a red and black gingham shirt with a black t-shirt underneath.

"That's Max. My son, and the younger one of the twins."

I said,

"I didn't you know you had a very handsome mini-me."

Austin was blushing.

"Oh, stop. And here's my daughter, Jessica, my older twin."

He put the picture of Max back and pulled out a picture of a very pretty blonde girl wearing her long hair in curls, small gold hoop earrings, a gold necklace that said _Jessica_ in cursive letters, and a navy blue tank top with daisies on it, with a royal blue camisole underneath. He said to me,

"That's my daughter, Jessica."

I said,

"She's so beautiful."

"Thanks. She's literally a mini-me of my ex-wife."

I asked,

"Austin, if you don't mind me asking, what's your relationship with your ex-wife like?"

"Well, Piper and I know that things didn't work the way we thought they would when we got married, so after divorcing we're just friends. Our work hours had changed so we didn't have a lot of time to spend together. On top of that, when it came to parenting Max and Jessica, we had conflicting parenting styles, and it caused us to argue. Piper's the kind of mother who believes in strict discipline, rewards and punishment, and all that other shit and I was the more pushover, more armchair parent. I sometimes even bribed my kids to behave and that would piss her off."

I took a sip of wine.

"Interesting."

"In a way, the divorce made me realize that I need to discipline more, and when my kids break the rules, they understand that actions have consequences. I'm a lot more of a disciplinarian than I used to be."

I said,

"I actually can't even recall the last time I had to discipline Sofia. She's very mild-mannered and well-behaved."

Austin chuckled.

"And she's adorable."

I giggled.

"Thank you. I think so, too."

Austin took another sip of chardonnay.

"I'd like to know who Ally Dawson is. Tell me- what do you like to do when you're not at work?"

I swallowed a bite of my chicken breast and string bean dish.

"When I'm not at work, I love to cook, I love spending time with my mom and Sofia and I love to read books and magazines."

"What do you read?"

I laughed.

"The books I like to read are _Twilight_ , _Hunger Games_ , _Harry Potter_ , _Fifty shades of Grey_ , _The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_ , _Gone Girl_ and _Girl on the train_. The magazines I read are _Elle_ , _Cosmo_ , _People_ and _Parents_ Magazine."

Austin said,

"The only magazine I read is _Playboy_. Max sometimes reads my old issues of _Playboy_ even though I tell him not to. I think the best way to stop it from happening was just to hide them from him. I mean, I know he's thirteen and needs an outlet for his hormones, but Playboy isn't a suitable magazine for a thirteen-year-old."

I chuckled and took another bite of food.

"I know you're a general contractor, what do you like to do when you're not at work?"

Austin told me,

"I like to spend time with Max and Jessica, or play poker with my friends. Do you have anything you like to watch on TV?"

I said,

"My favorite things to watch on TV are _Game of Thrones_ , _Sex and the city_ , _Grey's Anatomy_ , _Friends_ , _The Bold Type_ , _Riverdale_ and _Jane The Virgin."_

Austin was taking another bite of his Panda Express.

"I love _Riverdale_ and _Game of Thrones_. I got into _Riverdale_ because my parents read the _Archie_ comics when they were teenagers, and they were like a guilty pleasure for me. I mostly watch sports, but I watch _Walking Dead_ , _Modern Family_ , _Friends_ , _Seinfeld_ , _Big Bang Theory_ , _Two and a half men_ and _Two broke girls_."

We had a lot of wine to drink that night and in the morning, I woke up next to him in my bed. Both of us were in the raw. He looked so cute all curled up, fast asleep in my bed. He gently stirred and he looked at me.

"You look gorgeous with your hair all messy."

"Thanks. How much did we drink last night?"

"We probably had a lot. I think we had sex."

"Me too."

I felt his muscles and I said to him,

"Your muscles are so hard and I like them."

He giggled and even though he had really bad morning breath, I ignored it because he was handsome and we had just woken up after a little too much wine.

"But at least I'm not drunk anymore because I drove here. I promised myself I'd never drink and drive."

"Good promise to make to yourself."

Austin kissed my cheek.

"I had a good time with you last night, Ally. I hope to go out with you again, and maybe I can bring my kids along and you can bring Sofia along."

"That's a great idea. I'm aching to meet Max and Jessica."

He started dressing again and then he kissed my cheek and left.

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! If you like the story remember to favorite, follow and review. On another note, my first day of college is tomorrow. I can't believe it! Love you all!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AUSTIN:**

Max and Jessica were back at my house, and I wanted to have some time with them because that was Piper's and my agreement- we would each trade off with the kids every three to six weeks and she would either drop them off or I would go pick them up or vice versa. Ally Dawson was dominating my thoughts- she was so beautiful and actually bordered on sexy, smart and one of the nicest people I'd ever met. I was on FaceTime with Dez Wade, my childhood best friend and my ex-brother-in-law.

He was married to Piper's twin sister, Carrie, and even though we weren't brothers in law anymore, that didn't change our friendship. We had been best friends since we were in kindergarten, so for almost thirty years.

"She's beautiful. Not just in her looks, but in who she is as person. I haven't been in love in a long time, and being in love again is like a breath of fresh air."

Dez asked me,

"How'd you meet her?"

I laughed.

"We met in the most unexpected place. We met in the Walgreens pharmacy. I was in line to get Max's pills and she remarked that I had pads."

Dez looked confused.

"Pads? As in the things girls use for their periods? Why'd you need pads?"

"Jessica got her period. She wanted me to get her some."

My daughter apparently heard me. She came in, wearing only a hot pink bathrobe that said her initials, JAM ( _JAM_ stood for Jessica Athena Moon) and running a wide toothed comb through her bra-strap length blonde hair that looked very wet.

"Dad?"

she whispered.

"Who are you telling I got my first period?"

Dez said to her,

"Hi, Jessica."

"Hi, Uncle Dez."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone you got your first period. I deal with your Aunt Carrie when she gets it every month."

"Thanks, Dez. I'm glad I can trust you."

Dez laughed. She then said,

"I'll let you two talk. I gotta dry my hair and put something other than a bathrobe on."

I said,

"You go do that, sweetie."

My daughter was a total girl. She was little meticulous about how she looked, she had now started to wear makeup, and always cared how her hair, clothes, makeup and nails looked. I asked Dez,

"Did I mention Ally has an adorable daughter, Sofia? I came over to Ally's a while ago, and her daughter opened the door in a little princess tiara and she gave me a few kisses on the cheek. She's just an adorable little munchkin and it might be a tad unrealistic, but if I marry Ally, I think I want to adopt her daughter."

"Awww."

"Ally told me that the guy who got her pregnant with Sofia wasn't the guy she thought he was. Ally is fucking beautiful and amazing and she doesn't deserve a person who treats her like shit."

Dez giggled.

"Well, isn't someone passionate about this girl!"

"I am. It's the first time I've actually been in love since Piper and I split up."

Dez asked me,

"What the hell are you talking about? You've been on dates with that girl, Brooke."

"But I broke up with her. She was kind of crazy, or as Max describes her, psycho, she used drugs, she was an alcoholic and she was a prostitute."

"Yeah I remember that. Isn't she in a mental institution now?"

I laughed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was."

Later I was with Jessica and Max and I suggested,

"Why don't I order pizza and we can watch movies all night?"

Max pondered for half a second while Jessica stretched a hair tie from her wrist and proceeded to tie her hair into low pigtails.

"I never say no to Pizza, or to eating in front of the TV. Mom never lets us eat in front of the TV when we're at her house."

I said,

"You kids are at Dad's. Dad's more lenient."

Not that I wanted to undermine Piper's parenting. There were just some areas where I thought she could loosen up the reigns. I said,

"Max, I can tell you're sold, what about you, Jessica?"

Jessica tightened up the hair ties that secured her pigtails and she said,

"Huh? Oh sorry, I wasn't listening. What did you say?"

I said,

"I have an idea to order pizza and watch Netflix movies. You like the idea?"

Jessica said,

"Um, OK. I do like pizza and how you have looser reins than Mom does. I love Mom, but I wish she'd loosen up a little."

I said,

"Great. I'll be ordering half pepperoni-sausage, half cheese from Pizza Johnny's."

I had lived in Miami my whole life and ever since I was a child, I had loved going to Pizza Johnny's with my parents and my brother, and when I was a teenager I would go with my friends, with Piper and I would take the kids there sometimes. My kids even sometimes went there with their friends. I dialed the number on my phone and ordered some pizza, a big thing of caesar salad and a large bottle of Fanta Orange soda.

I said,

"I kind of thought we could watch have a chick flick marathon."

Max was saying,

"Kinda girly, but it's worth it to see all those hot girls."

I said,

"Max, you're thirteen. You're too young to call girls hot. Just say they're cute or they're pretty."

Jessica laughed.

"Max, you can't flirt to save your life!"

"You can't prove that, Jessica!"

"Oh really? I've seen how you flirt with Heather Banks, that girl you have a crush on, whenever you hit on her it looks so awkward. All you do is wink at her and give her faces that make you look like you're stoned and you blurt out some kind of half-assed pickup line."

I said,

"Love you makes you do and say stupid things."

"What Dad said."

That was true. Love did make people do or say stupid things. In fact, how I knocked Piper up with Max and Jessica when we were nineteen and in college, we went to Dez's party and we both had way too much to drink and we had drunken sex (Piper and I had known each other since we were in tenth grade. We had an on-off relationship in high school and we made our relationship official during the middle of senior year, and when we were together, we had had our fair share of rolls in the hay. Then again my mom was eighteen when she got pregnant with my older brother Randy and my dad was twenty-three. They met when my mom was sixteen and my dad was twenty-one) and then a few months later, Piper found out she was pregnant and when Max and Jessica were nine months old, we eloped. Ally had come into my mind again and I got some plates, cups, bowls, napkins and forks and I sighed dreamily. Doorbell came and I heard Max say,

"Dad? Dad? DAD!"

I was snapped out of my Ally trance and I said,

"Huh? What is it, Max?"

Max said,

"I think the pizza's here. You might wanna answer the door."

Max's voice had been lowering since the summer. When it happened to me, I remembered I was embarrassed when my voice started deepening, but with my son, he saw it as a girl magnet.

"OK, sure."

I paid the pizza delivery guy and I told my kids,

"Dig in!"

Max said to me,

"Don't have to tell me twice!"

I said,

"Max, I hope you're OK with this but I kind of thought we could watch some chick flicks."

"A little girly, but worth it. I love movies with hot girls."

"Glad to see you're bending, Max. How about you, Jess? You OK with that?"

I called Jessica "Jessie" or "Jess" sometimes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I watch them with my friends whenever we have sleepovers."

I said,

"I'll be back soon. I'm going to get some drinks. The soda is for you kids. Because what I'm about to have, you kids can't have for another eight years."

I had gone grocery shopping earlier this week and I had bought some more wine. I reached into the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of Rosé. My kids were glancing at me as if I was dragging around a dead body.

"Two bottles of Rosé?"

Jessica asked me.

"Dad, you're going to get drunk."

"I won't have too much, Jess. But thank you for looking out for your father."

Jessica chuckled as she pulled her phone, a rose gold iPhone 7 covered in a white case with makeup graphics, from the pocket of her hot pink robe.

"You're welcome. I'm your daughter and we're family. Family cares for each other."

I said,

"I'll remind you that you said that next time you and Max are at each others' throats."

First chick flick was _The Proposal_. Next was _Sex and the City_. Next was _Monster in law_. Then there was _The Notebook_. Unfortunately, I had a little too much Rosé (Not that I'm an alcoholic or anything) and I heard the word Allie in _The Notebook_ and I said,

"I love you, Ally! Do you love me?"

Max was like,

"Who the hell is Ally?"

Jessica answered him,

"I don't know, maybe he's talking about Allie Hamilton in the movie."

Max was kneeling against me.

"He might be, I don't know. But I think he's had too much to drink. I can literally smell the alcohol on his breath."

I was saying,

"I love Ally."

Jessica said,

"Eh. He'll sleep it off. I'm getting tired myself."

She yawned.

"Besides, it's quarter to eleven."

Two days later, on Monday morning, I was cooking pancakes as a way to bribe my children to get them out of bed. Ever since I was a toddler, I had loved pancakes with chocolate chips and blueberries. I had proceeded to cut up some fruit and I had made some orange juice and a half a cup of water for Max to swallow his pills. I put a bottle of maple syrup and the carton of orange juice (We lived in Miami so Orange Juice was our sacred beverage) in the middle of the breakfast table. My son entered with a big old toothy grin.

"Someone's in a good mood today."

"Your pancakes are my Monday morning second wind."

He sat down and swallowed his pills. Jessica followed in and a big smile spread across her face. She was literally Piper's mini-me. Max looked more like me. Me, Piper, Max and Jessica all were blonde, but Jessica looked a little like me but mostly like Piper.

Max looked a little like Piper but mostly like me.

"I smell your pancakes, Dad."

I smiled.

"I make them for my two favorite kids."

Jessica saw the syrup bottle on the table and she stretched a hair tie from her wrist and she tied her blonde hair into a ponytail.

"Just tying my hair back, so I don't get syrup in it."

"I have no objection to that, sweetie,"

I said to her. Jessica started to cut her food with her knife and fork and started eating her pancakes and her fruit. Ally once again popped into my head. I forgot I picked up a carton of orange juice and started pouring it into my coffee. Max whispered with a mouthful of fruit,

"Dad?"

I was still in a daze and my son swallowed and wiped his mouth.

"Yeah, son?"

"You're pouring juice into your coffee,"

he said as he was cutting his pancakes.

"I am? I guess I'm kind of in a daze."

Jessica whispered to Max, even though he was right across from her,

"I think he's doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Acting weird. Don't you remember what happened on Saturday?"

She was cutting more of her pancakes with her knife and fork.

"Oh right. Dad, anything on your mind?"

Jessica said,

"Yeah. You're spacing out even more than Max does in class."

"Hey I can't help it! I got ADHD."

Jessica was eating more of her fruit and took a sip of her juice.

"Why are you dazing so much?"

Max took a sip of juice and said,

"Yeah. And you said you loved Allie while you were drunk on Rosé."

I started cutting my pancakes.

"Fine, you kids got me. I'm in love."

Jessica said,

"I knew it!"

Max asked,

"Who is she? And is she hot?"

I said,

"Her name is Ally, and I think she is. She's super nice and she's gorgeous."

I started eating more of pancakes and Jessica followed suit.

"Have you gone out with her yet?"

I said,

"Yup. When you kids went to your mom's, I went on a date with her. I've told her about you guys and she really wants to meet you guys."

Jessica swallowed more of her pancakes.

"Have you asked her to be your girlfriend yet?"

I said,

"I will at some point. She also has an adorable daughter, Sofia, who's six. When I met her, she kissed me right on the cheek."

My daughter started gushing.

"Awww."

Max smiled at me.

"Dad, if she's much as a babe as you say she is, we'll give her a chance."

I laughed.

"OK. I'll see if she's free this weekend, and she can bring her daughter with her, we can get dinner together. You kids will really like Ally and her daughter, Sofia, I promise."

Max said to me,

"OK, Dad. If you're happy, we're happy."

"Yay."

I was so glad my children were willing to give Ally a chance. I looked over at the oven where it was seven forty-five and saw we were all done with breakfast. I said,

"Kids, we're leaving for school in fifteen minutes."

Jessica said,

"Gives me plenty of time to do my makeup and brush my teeth."

Max breathed in his sister's face, probably to spite her and she said,

"Max, please brush your teeth. Your breath smells like a mens' room toilet!"

"Hey, you haven't brushed your teeth yet, either, Jessica. Hypocrite!"

"You can't call me a hypocrite because I had the idea to brush my teeth! So ha!"

I rolled my eyes and slightly chortled at my kids' bickering as I followed them upstairs to the bathroom because I needed to brush my teeth and get ready to work. We brushed our teeth and Jessica started applying her eyeshadow. Max said to her,

"You're such a girl, sis."

Jessica said,

"Um, excuse me, Max, but this girl cares more about how she looks than you probably ever will care about how you look."

Max giggled.

"It's true. I don't really give a damn about how I look."

"We're starting High School next year, you _will_ start caring how you look."

She said as she coated her eyelashes with black mascara and painted her lips with pink lipstick and lipgloss. Piper and I had not allowed Jessica to wear makeup until she was the age that she was now. We just wanted her to know that we didn't think she needed makeup because she was already so beautiful. Jessica untied her blonde hair from the ponytail it was in and and ran her hands through it, letting it touch the bottom of her breasts. I said,

"Come on, kids. I need to get to work and I need to get you two to school."

Max and Jessica followed me downstairs and grabbed their bags- Jessica's backpack was a bright pink Jansport one covered in white polka dots while Max's was a black and yellow Nike one.

 **Let me know how you guys liked this chapter! If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Love you guys to the moon and back. The Austin Moon and back, if you will. Have a great morning, afternoon, or evening, whatever time you're reading this right now. Peace, love, hugs and kisses!**


	6. Chapter 6

**ALLY:**

I was on my lunch break with my best friend, Trish De La Rosa, and we went to Subway to grab some food. Sitting across from each other in the cafeteria, Trish told me,

"So, Ally,"

as she was unwrapping her subway sandwich from the little paper,

"Who's this guy you've been into?"

I giggled.

"He's super nice, he's super cute, he works as a contractor and his name is Austin Moon."

Trish's eyes lit up as she chewed her food.

"I know him. He's one of Jace's friends, and his daughter Jessica has known Alanna since they were born, now they're in eighth grade. Time goes by fast. They're totally inseparable."

I said,

"Wow, that's amazing. Hey, maybe sometime, Austin and I can go out with you and Jace."

Trish listened gravely to me as she chewed her sandwich.

"Love that idea, mija."

My best friend was latina and often integrated spanish and english into the same sentence. She was in fact the first person in her all mexican-catholic family to have a white person as a significant other. I said,

"Our first date was at my house. We got some wine and got some panda express. We may have a bit too much wine though because the next morning, we woke up in our birthday suits in my bed."

Trish giggled a little and swallowed.

"How'd you guys meet anyway?"

She asked as she picked out a bag of doritos.

"It was the day Sofia had an asthma attack and I was getting her more medicine for her inhaler at the drugstore. He was buying his daughter napkins because she got her first period, and he was getting his son's pills."

"Poor thing. How is she?"

I said,

"She's doing much better. Sofia had the cutest first impression when she met Austin. She just answered the door for him and she saw the roses he had for me and she kissed him right his on his cheek because he was being nice to her."

Trish gushed. Just then I felt my phone ding. I took my phone from my pocket. My phone was a gold iPhone 6S covered in a coral and gold hardcover case. My lock screen was me and Sofia at our home and we were in our pajamas and snuggling up on the couch.

Sofia had her Flounder plush toy and a Sebastian plush toy in one hand and a plush panda bear in her other hand in the picture. I squealed a little upon getting a text from Austin. Trish asked me,

"Did you get a text from Austin?"

I said,

"Yup."

"Oooh, what does it say?"

It says,

"Hey, beautiful. I wanna know if you're free Friday night."

I texted,

"I so am!"

He texted,

"Great. I'd like to have you for dinner. Sofia's welcome to come, too. I'll tell my kids to keep Friday open. They're teenagers so they want to hang out with their friends lol."

I texted,

"Lol great. Because I wanna meet Max and Jessica."

He texted,

"Yes! What time are you off of work?"

I texted,

"I have to be there by nine. Work ends at five."

"How does six work for you?"

I put my phone down and I said,

"I have another date with Austin on Friday! He just texted me asking if I want to have dinner with him."

Trish squealed and she said to me,

"That's amazing, mija! Just think maybe one day, you and Austin might be getting married and might have more kids."

I said,

"If I'm lucky that'll happen. I think Sofia deserves a father figure, and I'd really like him to be like Austin. Or better yet, if I do end up marrying Austin like you said, I'd like him to be her father figure."

My latina best friend said,

"Glad you dumped David's ass before Sofia was born."

"Me too. David was such an asshole. I dumped him before Sofia was born because all the shit he was putting me through. Cheating on me by having sex with promiscuous teenage girls, drinking and using drugs. Hell, he even got arrested for tons of DUIs and statutory rape. There's no way I want Sofia knowing about, let alone growing up with, a man like David."

"I'm glad you have your daughter's best interests at heart."

I said,

"Oh, I love Sofia more than life itself."

When I got home from work that day, I opened the door to the apartment, where my mom was sitting on the sofa while Sofia was in the arm chair breathing into her nebulizer, with her little pink blanket, covered in cupcakes, lollipops, macaroons and popsicles with little smiley faces. Sofia's pediatrician, Dr. Martina Guiterrez, recommended that I had her sit before a nebulizer and breathe into it for twenty minutes a day. I had to bring her in every three months because of her asthma. I said,

"Hi."

My mom smiled in my direction, saying,

"Hi, sweetie."

I went over and embraced my mom and she kissed my temple.

Sofia detached the mask to her nebulizer from her lips and gasped for breath a little. I got down to my daughter's height and I said,

"Hi, princess."

I kissed her cheek.

"Hi, Mommy,"

she said to me, and let out a few coughs. I asked her,

"Sweetie, how long have you been breathing?"

My mom said,

"Don't worry, I've been timing her on my phone. Just before you came in, my alarm went off."

"OK good."

I went into my room and I took my makeup off, washed my face and got into my pajamas. I tied my hair into a high ponytail. I pulled out a frozen pizza with sausage, pepperoni and vegetables from Costco from the refrigerator and I preheated the oven, pulled out some racks, plates and cups. After I put the pizza in and timed it, I sat down beside my daughter and I said to her,

"Guess what, Sofia?"

Sofia asked me,

"What?"

I asked my daughter,

"Remember Austin, that guy who came over here a while ago?"

"The guy who gave you roses?"

I said,

"Yes, him. Anyway, on Friday night, we're going to his house for dinner and so you can meet his kids."

Sofia's face lit up.

"Yay! I like him because he's nice to my Mommy."

I said,

"I like him, too."

I kissed Sofia on her cheek.

"He likes you a lot."

Sofia asked me,

"Has he asked you to be his girlfriend yet?"

I laughed.

"No, but that's OK. We're still getting to know each other. And we're going to meet his kids, too."

Sofia asked me,

"How old are they?"

I said,

"Austin says they're both a little older than you. They're teenagers."

"OK."

We later sat down to go have dinner and while I was making Sofia's lunch, my mom was grabbing wine from the fridge. My mom said to me,

"I heard you and Sofia talking about going to Austin's house. Are you excited?"

I said,

"Yeah I am! I really like this guy, I can't stop thinking about him."

"He gave you flowers when he came over here for dinner, so I think he likes you, too."

I smiled. It felt so weird, yet so good to be in love again. Much of my time had been invested in my expenses and taking care of Sofia. My mom had pitched in with that as well. My mom worked less hours than me, so most of the time she would get Sofia from school and watch her until I came home.

On Friday night, I was let out early from work so I could get ready for my date with Austin. On my way home, I got a text from Trish that said,

"Go get him, bestie!"

It had kissing emojis and a heart emoji. I texted,

"Thanks, Trish."

When I came home, I undressed from my scrubs and I got dressed in a short sleeved rose and gold soutache applique dress, a white half sleeved shrug, gold sandals and pearl stud earrings. I was in the bathroom clipping in some of my hair extensions. My hair was very short, not going any further than my shoulders, and when I went to special events, I wore extensions. I was about to do my makeup when Sofia walked in, holding a little pink lip-gloss with Ariel from _The Little Mermaid_ on it.

She was looking at my hair and asking,

"Mommy, did your hair get longer?"

I giggled,

"No, sweetie. These are just extensions. Mommy will take them out when we come back here."

I took out my eyeshadow and started applying pink glittery eyeshadow to my eyelids. I did black mascara, black winged eyeliner, pink blush and red lipstick. I was done doing my makeup and I got down to Sofia's height, and I asked her,

"Do you have your inhaler?"

Sofia reached into the pocket of her denim jacket and pulled out it with the spacer. I said,

"Shake it."

My daughter shook it and I removed the cap. She opened her mouth and proceeded to inhale and exhale several times until I told her she could stop. Sofia put on her Ariel lip gloss as I put her inhaler in the pocket of her jean jacket. Sofia followed me as I went to the kitchen to get the dessert I was planning to bring to Austin's- a box of Vanilla cupcakes from Safeway. I said,

"Bye, Mom. We'll be home around eight thirty, nine."

"Goodbye, sweetie."

About to unlock my car, I asked Sofia,

"Are you excited to see Austin?"

She said,

"Yeah."

I was very eager to see the first man I had loved since that asshole David and I was very eager to meet his kids, too. Sofia climbed into my car and I buckled her in her carseat and drove to Austin's.

 **If you like the chapter, remember to favorite, follow and review! Love you all so much! Have an amazing day! Peace, love, hugs and kisses. Also my condolences to Laura Marano, following the passing of her beloved dog Velvet :'( :'(**


	7. Chapter 7

**AUSTIN:**

I was in the kitchen, making dinner, which was spaghetti and meat sauce and garden salad. Jessica entered the kitchen, and she was wearing a hot pink cardigan sweater, a white tank top with makeup graphics on it, light wash skinny jeans, white ballet flats, her gold _Jessica_ necklace and gold hoop earrings. Her blonde hair was in curls rather than her usual pin straight blonde hair. She had her pink floral print makeup bag in her hands and she asked me,

"What smells so good, Dad?"

I said,

"I'm making spaghetti and red sauce with beef for when Ally comes over with her daughter. I'm so nervous."

My daughter laughed.

"Aww, that's so cute. You're a grown man and you're so nervous about the girl you like coming over."

She took out her eyeshadow and started painting her eyelids with light pink sparkly eyeshadow, black mascara, and black eyeliner.

"Is your brother taking a shower?"

I had told Max to take a shower before Ally came over because it had been three days since he last took a shower. He was thirteen, he really should be showering more often. Also, he was on the wrestling team at their school, Calvin Coolidge Middle School.

Jessica took out some pink blush and painted her cheeks with it. She said,

"Yeah. I'm very glad you told him to take a shower. I know because I could hear him singing Baby got back in the shower so I decided to do my hair and makeup elsewhere."

She took out some bright pink lipstick and covered her lips with it and smacked her lips together. My phone dinged in my pocket. It was from Ally and it said,

"I'll be there in five minutes."

I texted,

"Can't wait to see your gorgeous face."

I said,

"Hey, Jessie, can you set the table? Five places- napkins, forks, bowls, and plates."

"OK."

I saw my daughter do as she was told. Max came in, in a black _Walking Dead_ hoodie _,_ a black _Got Guitar?_ t-shirt, dark wash ripped jeans and red Nike high tops. His blonde hair was slicked back.

"Wow, Max, you clean up good."

Jessica laughed condescendingly.

"You should clean up more."

Max made a face at her and she made one back at him.

"Thanks. I'm sure your new girlfriend is hot."

I laughed.

"I'm still getting to know her, but eventually, hopefully, she _will_ be my girlfriend."

I grabbed a loaf of sourdough bread and started cutting bread and I put butter in the middle of the table, the salad in the middle of the table, put sauce on the pasta and mixed it and put into a bowl on the table. I then heard the doorbell ring. Shit- I felt those butterflies in my stomach again. _She's here_ , I thought. I went to go answer the door, and Ally was holding Sofia's hand, and she had a purse on her shoulder, and a plastic box of Vanilla cupcakes in her hand. I greeted her, saying,

"Hey, beautiful,"

And then I kissed her hand. She giggled softly and she said,

"Hey, Austin,"

And we tightly embraced. I knelt down to Sofia's height and I said,

"Hey, you. You little munchkin."

A bright smile spread across Sofia's face as she let go of Ally's hand, consisting of little squirrel cheeks and large brown doe eyes that she had inherited from Ally and she giggled a little. The sound of laughter from a young child always melted my heart. Sofia said,

"Hi, Austin,"

She hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek and I hugged her back. I said to her,

"Look at you, with your little jean jacket with butterflies and flowers and your little Ariel T-shirt."

Ally laughed.

"She's a real Ariel fan."

I stood back up on my height and I said,

"Come on in."

I closed the door behind my would-be girlfriend, and Max and Jessica came out of the kitchen. Ally asked me,

"Can I put my bag and the dessert I brought down?"

I said,

"Of course. Meet my kids- Max and Jessica."

Jessica greeted her first. She giggled.

"I'm Jessica."

Ally said to her,

"Hi, Jessica, it's very nice to finally meet you. You're gorgeous."

Jessica smiled.

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you, too."

She then came over to Max and she said,

"Hi, Max. It's very nice to finally meet you as well. You're very handsome."

Max said,

"Thanks. You're gorgeous yourself."

Ally giggled.

"Thank you."

He winked at her and clicked his tongue. I could hear Ally say,

"And this is my daughter, Sofia. She's six."

Sofia said to them,

"I'm a little munchkin!"

Jessica laughed.

"Hi, Sofia. You _are_ a little munchkin."

Max said to her,

"You're so cute. My dad really likes your mom."

I laughed as I went into the kitchen and put the dessert on the counter and I came back out. I said,

"Dinner's ready."

My kids walked in and I handed them cups and I said to them,

"You two, make drinks for yourselves and ask Sofia if she wants anything to drink."

Max said to me,

"Sure, Dad."

He went to the refrigerator and pulled out a jug of apple juice and he whispered to me,

"By the way, you scored."

A big old cheeky, toothy, grin spread across Max's face.

"What do you mean?"

"Ally is so fine."

I whispered,

"Maximilian, Ally is twice your age. Wait five years and then you can flirt with all the adult women you want."

Max said,

"I know to take you seriously when you use my full name. OK, fine."

Jessica was reaching into the fridge and pulling out a bottle of sparkling water and I heard her ask,

"Sofia, do you want me to get you anything to drink?"

Sofia replied,

"I'll take some water, please."

Jessica went to the sink and poured my would-be stepdaughter a glass of water. Sofia said to her,

"Thank you."

I asked Ally,

"Do you want me to top you off? I have Chardonnay, Rosé, Cabernet and bud light."

I said,

"May I have some Rosé with a few ice cubes?"

I giggled.

"Your wish is my command, beautiful."

I poured her Rosé and put ice cubes in it. I got myself a can of bud light and poured it into a glass. We later sat down to eat dinner and Ally immediately started eating the pasta I had cooked.

"Austin, did you make this?"

He said,

"Yup."

"It's delicious."

"Thank you."

I saw Sofia was sitting right beside Ally. I asked her,

"You like it, Sofia?"

She nodded as she was still chewing. She swallowed and Ally wiped her mouth, covered in tomato sauce. Ally asked,

"Max, Jessica, I'd like to get to know you two a little better. How old are you?"

They said in unison,

"Thirteen."

Jessica was putting butter on a slice of bread.

"We're twins. I'm the oldest,"

Jessica said with a somewhat haughty smile on her face. Max looked rather pissed at her.

"By three minutes."

Sofia was eating a forkful of her salad and she said,

"You guys are brother and sister. Act like you're friends! I have no brother or sister, so you two are lucky!"

Ally giggled as she took a sip of Rosé. I whispered to Sofia,

"You get used to it."

"I'm in first grade. I have twin girls named Leah and Lola in my class and they say they're each other's best friends. No reason why you can't act like that, too."

Max said,

"Dang, girl. You're only six and you know how to tell people off."

The little girl said,

"I just want everyone to get along."

Ally asked them,

"What do you kids like to do in your free time?"

Max replied,

"I like to wrestle, in case my dad didn't tell you, I'm on my school's wrestling team. I have ADHD so it helps me with my chemical imbalance. PE is my best subject. I also like to play video games, go to movies and I like to skateboard. All with my friends."

"Cool. What about you, Jessica? What do you like to do?"

Jessica was eating more of her salad and she swallowed.

"I like to go to spend time with my friends, I like to read and I like to design. I love beauty, fashion, makeup and art a lot."

"Do you think you want to go into fashion or makeup when you grow up?"

"Um, yeah. I might. I mean, I'm only in eighth grade now but it's something to think about."

"Speaking of your friends, I know your friend Alanna Dillon. Her mom Trish is my best friend and we work at the same pediatrician's office."

Jessica giggled.

"Alanna and I have known each other since birth. My dad and her dad are great friends so their friendship was passed down to us."

I smiled. Jace Dillon had been friends with Dez and I since we were freshmen in high school and the three of us had gone to college together as well. Trish and Jace, despite going to different high schools (but both still here in Miami) had met at the mall and they ended up going to the same college together and then they ended up moving in and getting married together and their daughter Alanna and my daughter Jessica were just two months apart, and the two ended up going to preschool, elementary school, middle school and they may even end up going to highschool together. Jace and Trish were still friends with Piper and I, despite our divorce.

Later after dinner, I said to Ally, as she was holding Sofia's hand,

"Oh god, I didn't ask you if you wanted a tour of the house."

I took them upstairs and Max and Jessica followed- showing them the twins' rooms, my room, the office/home gym, the guest room and the TV/game room. Sofia asked me,

"If we move in here with you, can I have Jessica's room?"

Ally laughed.

"Jessica does have a very pretty room, doesn't she?"

Jessica smiled.

"Thank you. And if you smell a stench next door, that's Max's laundry."

Max gave his sister a dirty look.

"God, Jessica, you're a priss."

"Max, it's not high-maitenance to want to smell pleasant."

I said,

"Kids, please don't embarrass me by squabbling. But Jessica, Thanks for reminding me. I need to do laundry tomorrow."

I turned to Max and Jessica.

"Ally and I are going to have some alone time. Why don't you two go take Sofia into the game room and play a game with her and we'll have dessert in a little while."

Max gave me a look.

"Sure, Dad. But the games I play might be inappropriate for kids her age."

I said,

"Max, I meant like a board game, silly. We still have those board games you and your sister loved to play when you were younger."

Jessica said,

"Sure, Dad. We'll keep the little one entertained."

Sofia said,

"I want them to get along, though."

Ally laughed and she said to me,

"Come on."

We sat down on the sofa and Ally snuggled up to me. Her head was on my shoulder and I had my arm around her.

"The dinner you made was delicious, Austin,"

she whispered to me.

"You deserve the best, beautiful,"

I whispered and I kissed her hand. Her nails were covered in pearl pink nail polish.

"I could tell Sofia really liked it, too."

Ally whispered,

"Sofia's not a picky eater at all. She'll eat anything."

I snickered.

"You're so beautiful."

Ally blushed.

"You're so sweet."

 **Hope you guys liked that chapter! I think Austin and Ally really like each other! More of their alone time will be in the next chapter. So excited because tomorrow I'm going to San Francisco Comic Con :D. But also San Francisco is trapped in this deadly heatwave :l :O but fortunately it hasn't knocked out the power. If you guys like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Love my readers to the moon and back. The Austin Moon and back if you will, :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**ALLY:**

I nuzzled up to Austin. He whispered,

"You seriously don't know how beautiful you really are."

I blushed.

"Thank you. I love your kids. They're both very smart and have great senses of humor, especially Max."

Austin chuckled.

"Thanks. He was voted Class Clown in the yearbook three times. Well, I guess it's par for the course considering he has ADHD."

Austin snuggled closer to me as I glanced at the pictures on the walls. The first one I was glancing at was a picture of Austin and a gorgeous blonde woman holding each twin on their hip (The woman had Jessica on her hip, and Austin had Max on his) when they looked no older than about two years old and he was holding them on each hip. Another had Jessica in a little Princess Aurora costume and she had a toothy grin and she had a cup with Belle and Cinderella on it. A smaller frame had a one-year-old Jessica in pink footed pajamas standing on a coffee table a sippy cup was on it. Another smaller frame had a one-year-old Max in a bear costume sitting on the floor.

Another frame had Jessica in little pink _Barbie_ pajamas sitting on a bed covered in plush toys. Another had Max and Jessica both in the ball pit at Planet Kids. The final one was a large one with many pictures of Austin with his kids and with that pretty blonde woman. I smiled,

"I love the pictures of your kids."

Austin chuckled.

"I love my kids, too. They are a bit of a handful sometimes, but I love them to the moon and back."

I asked,

"I hope I don't bring up any sore subjects for you, but who's the blonde woman in the pictures?"

"Oh no, beautiful. It's fine. That's Piper, my ex-wife and Jessica and Max's mom. Even though we're broken up, we're good friends and we still do fun things with the kids sometimes. She has a new boyfriend, Richard, who's a car entrepreneur."

"Wow, a rich guy, huh. I've been on a few dates here and there since Sofia was born. They were nice guys, but I didn't feel any chemistry with them."

Austin put his arm around me.

"I'd rather feel a lack of chemistry than have the circumstances I did with Brooke, the last girl I went out with."

"What was wrong with her?"

He chuckled.

"What wasn't wrong with her? I found out she worked as a prostitute and had a dangerous addiction to drugs and alcohol. Also every time she came over for dinner, Max would notice his Strattera pills missing and he was more attention deficit and he was more hyperactive. I found out she was stealing them."

I said,

"She sounds like she's insane."

"Max calls her a psycho."

I giggled. I asked,

"Do you think we should offer them dessert now?"

Austin replied,

"I don't see why not."

We walked up the stairs and Austin knocked on the door. I heard Max say,

"Come in."

My would-be boyfriend opened the door and Max, Jessica and Sofia were all sprawled on the floor, playing a game.

"Hey, what are you playing?"

Jessica said,

"Cranium. Sofia beat us. She's good."

I said,

"It's OK, Jessica. She's beat me in Connect Four and Disney Princess themed monopoly."

Max piped in.

"I suggested _Cards Against Humanity_."

Jessica elbowed Max and then he said,

"Ow! What the H-E double hockey sticks was that for?"

I heard Austin's daughter whisper,

"Max, are you an idiot? That game's not appropriate for a six-year-old. Ally would murder us if Sofia learned any of the phrases used in it!"

My daughter asked me,

"Mama, what's _Cards Against Humanity_?"

I got down to her level and I said to her,

"It's a game you should wait about ten years to play."

Austin said,

"Oh, I almost forgot why we came up here. Now I remember. We came to ask if you kids wanted dessert."

Max's brown eyes that matched mine lit up.

"Sugar to my ADHD is like smoking to a person with asthma, but I still love my sugar."

I thought to myself, _Remind me to limit his sugar intake if I marry Austin_. Jessica said,

"That sounds great, Dad. What are we having?"

I said,

"I brought cupcakes over."

I turned to my daughter and I got down to her height and I proceeded to talk in a baby voice.

"How about you, Missy miss? You ready for dessert?"

I started kissing her on the cheek and she laughed a little, which induced a bit of her coughing.

"Yeah."

I put my hands under her arms, putting her on my hip and I started to carry her. For a six-year-old, Sofia was tiny. She was very skinny and a little short for her age. In the past, I had worried there was a medical reason behind her being so short and skinny, but Dr. Guiterrez had assured me that nothing was wrong with her body, apart from her asthma. And it helped that she wasn't picky when it came to eating.

We were back in Austin's kitchen and we were serving the cupcakes I bought and Austin had a big tub of Rocky Road ice cream. Max said to me,

"Bomb cupcakes, Ally. You're a great cook."

I smiled.

"Actually, Max, I bought them."

"You're a purchaser of cupcakes."

Austin said to me,

"It was so nice of you to bring dessert."

I laughed.

"You were nice enough to invite Sofia and me over here, it was the least I could do."

Sofia was glancing at Austin.

"Thank you, Austin."

I was blushing because I loved my little girl so much. Later we came home, I had taken out my hair extensions, taken off my makeup and gotten into pajamas, and I was tucking Sofia into her bed and smoothing her blankets. I had finished giving her a breathing treatment and reading her two bedtime stories. I laid next to her and I asked her,

"Did you have fun at Austin's house tonight?"

I was smoothing Sofia's soft, dark brown curly hair as she was clutching one of her many plush toys, a plush doll of Skylar from _Elena of Avalor_. Sofia loved _Elena of Avalor_ and at times, my mom or I would watch it alongside her and I admitted, at first, I had no opinion on it, but then it started to grow on me.

"Yeah. I like Austin and Max and Jessica. I just wish Max and Jessica didn't fight so much."

I snickered.

"All siblings fight sometimes. When your Aunt April and I were kids, we used to fight sometimes, too. But when she went off to college, I was very sad and I missed her. The last fight we had was when I was eleven and she was fifteen."

It had actually been over twenty-two years since my sister April and I had had our last argument. Now I was thirty-two and a half and she was thirty-seven and besides Trish, she was my best friend. She asked me,

"Mommy, will Austin be your husband one day?"

I said to her,

"I like him, and I hope he's my husband one day. If I marry Austin, I'll become Max and Jessica's stepmother. And Austin will be your stepfather."

Sofia asked me,

"You won't be like Cinderella's stepmother to Max and Jessica, right?"

"Of course I won't. Most stepmothers aren't like Cinderella's stepmother."

She coughed a little bit. I asked her,

"You OK, princess?"

"I'm fine, Mama."

I knew what the problem was. She wasn't propped up, she was lying down. Her doctor told me to always prop her up because she would cough less and it would keep her airways open. I said,

"Here, sit up for a minute."

She sat up and I propped up her pillows. I tucked her back in and I whispered,

"Sleep well, baby girl."

Sofia yawned and sleepily kissed me on the cheek. I kissed her on the forehead and I turned off the light and I closed her door. Where my phone was charging in the corner, I heard a vibrate. It was text from Austin. It said,

"I had a good time with you tonight, beautiful,"

And I blushed upon him calling me beautiful. Every time Austin called me beautiful, it melted my heart.

 **Chapter 8 is done! I hope you all enjoyed the Chapter and I hope you all had a good labor day break. On an unrelated note, I am so glad the heat wave has died down because the heat was totally insufferable and I had a great time at San Francisco Comic-Con and my favorite part was when I got to meet and get a photo op with Emily Osment, who you guys might recognize as Lilly Truscott from** _ **Hannah Montana**_ **and/or Gabi Diamond from** _ **Young & Hungry**_ **. She is very sweet and I love her even more now. If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AUSTIN:**

The next morning, I had work to do on my computer. I was about to send an email out to two clients by the names of Bennett and Leslie Ferguson, saying they needed to replace their refrigerator. I heard a knock at the door. I said,

"Come in,"

I turned around. It was Max.

"Hey, Dad, I just wanted to let you know I made plans with my friends Brandon, Ethan and Justin to see the new _Legend of Zelda_ movie."

I said,

"Um, OK. Do you need money?"

He said,

"Thanks, but no. I have my allowance, the money I made walking the Levinsons' dogs, money I made babysitting and I found thirty bucks on the floor of the gym after wrestling the other day."

I said,

"Wow, you're rich."

Jessica followed in as she slid on a short mint green cardigan sweater over a heather gray tank top with light pink roses, and her light gray camisole and pink bra strap were peaking through one of the straps of her tank top. She had her watermelon crossbody purse over her shoulder.

"Hey, Dad. I made plans with my friends Alanna, Emily and Deshondra to go to the mall."

I said,

"OK. Do _you_ need money, Jessica?"

Jessica said to me,

"Um, no. I have my allowance, the money I made babysitting and the money I made babysitting Mrs. Barnick's cat, who's just as mean and psycho as she is."

Mrs. Winifred Barnick was my next door neighbor. She was cranky, mean, shrill, alcoholic, had a tendency of holding grudges, bordered on mentally unstable and according to Max, she was "psychotic and creepy." She never liked Max because she was a target of his pranks, she blamed me whenever Max would even cross her yard and berate me, telling me things like,

"SEND YOUR SON TO MILITARY SCHOOL!" or "PUT YOUR SON IN FOSTER CARE!"

I asked,

"Which mall are you guys going to?"

My kids said in unison,

"Sunset Place."

I said,

"Sorry, kids, but I can't drive you. I have work to do on the computer."

Max said,

"It's OK. We just came in to tell you that we were going."

I sighed.

"Um, OK. Just be home by six."

My twins exited my office and they said in unison,

"Yes, Dad."

I heard my phone ding. It said I had a friend request on Facebook from Ally. Her profile picture was of her in pink folded collar pajamas with red roses on them and Sofia was snuggled up against her and she was kissing the top of her daughter's head. Her cover photo was a picture of Sofia in a Belle costume complete with the tiara she wore when I met her. Ally's daughter was adorable and I loved her.

I confirmed her request and suddenly I got a FaceTime request from an unknown number. I answered. There was a topless girl with a balaclava over her face and she had Louis Vuitton sunglasses on and she had a bong on the coffee table in front of her. I was a little freaked out right now.

She was laughing like a deranged mental patient and it was freaking me the fuck out.

"Hello, Austin,"

She was once again giving me that uncontrollable mental patient laughter. I asked,

"Who is this? And why do you have no bra, let alone a shirt on?"

The anonymous psychopath was again laughing a very creepy way.

"I should leave you to find that one out."

She pulled off the sunglasses, and the balaclava and she let her long, brown and blonde ombre wavy hair down from a high ponytail.

"Brooke?"

"That's right, lover boy. I'm still heartbroken that you dumped my ass! Not even those two fucking brats who live with you like me! Everybody likes me because I have a beautiful pussy and I'm a sexy motherfucker."

I said,

"I broke up with you six months ago. I caught you stealing my son's pills that help him control himself and help him focus."

"I didn't steal your son's pills. Robbers stole your son's pills!"

"My eyes don't lie, Brooke. I saw you stealing Max's pills."

Brooke was screeching and shrieking. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard when you had a migraine on top of a headache.

"AUSTIN! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME! YOU'RE ACCUSING ME OF STEALING HOW DARE YOU!"

"I'm not accusing you, I saw you stealing his pills!"

"Anyway, Austin, I'm calling to say that I'm watching you. I peek through your windows while you sleep at night. I know you're in love with someone else. She's a thot and I'll beat her to a fucking pulp because you're my soulmate and we'll get married and grow old and die together!"

I said to her,

"Don't you talk about Ally that way!"

"I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LITTLE HOE ANYWAY I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HER! SHE'S A MOTHERFUCKING SLAG WHO STOLE MY BOYFRIEND AND FUCKED HIM! YOU LOVE ME AUSTIN!"

Brooke's screeching was about to make me go deaf.

"Brooke, I'm not your boyfriend anymore. You are a psycho and a drug addict."

I hung up on her. That was fucking crazy. I had work to do now. I sent an email to the clients saying I would be over tuesday at eleven o'clock. I got a text from Brooke that said,

"LICK MY PUSSY MOTHERFUCKER! IT TAKES LIKE PANCAKES! YOU LOVE PANCAKES!"

I texted,

"Leave me alone."

Brooke was probably the craziest person I had ever met. Breaking up with her was one of the best decisions I had ever made. She worked as a prostitute, she smoked marijuana, she drank alcohol and whenever I would come over to her house or vice versa, she would want to have sex. Sadomasochistic sex, might I add. Whenever we would watch a movie, she would choose a porn movie and Max walked in on us watching porn. According to him, it scarred him for life.

My son discovered his pills were missing and he was spacing out and he was bouncing off the walls like crazy. That was why I broke up with Brooke. She was psychotic, a sadomasochist, a pervert, a drug addict and an alcoholic. I needed to find something to do about her.

 **Chapter 8 down! Uh oh, I think Brooke is going to cause some trouble for Austin and maybe Ally. But I don't think Austin's going to be the only one who has to deal with an ex. Just stay tuned to find out what happens ;). If you haven't already, I highly encourage you to check out my one-shots for Trish and Jace, because they are the most underrated couple on _Austin & Ally_, at least in my opinion. ****OK, have a great day my readers! If you're new and you like the story, favorite, follow and review! Love you all to the Austin Moon and back!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi guys! I decided to make this a two-part POV. Hope that's OK with you guys. Love my readers!**

 **ALLY:**

I had just printed out my timesheet and I clipped it to a clipboard. I had to fill out my hours in order to get my paycheck. My payday was next Friday and I was very excited for that. I picked up my pen and before I could fill out my timesheet, I noticed I was getting a call from an unknown number. I said,

"Hello?"

On the other side, I heard the voice of a man I thought I'd gotten rid of forever.

"Althea Dawson? I'm David Shigeta."

I wasn't schizophrenic, and I wasn't dreaming. My ex-boyfriend, David, was calling me. I broke up with him after he had gone to jail for DUIs, drug possession and statutory rape. I answered,

"I know who you are. What do you want, David?"

"Don't you disrespect me, whore! I'm calling because I want you to know it's your fault I'm on the sex offender registry."

I felt the pressure building up inside me, but I was going to try to stay calm because my six-year-old was nearby and I didn't want her picking up any expletives from me.

"My fault? How the hell is it my fault that you cheated on me with teenagers and got arrested for DUIs and drugs?"

"Because in our relationship, I'm the man. I make the rules. You are an ungrateful bitch. All you had to do was make sure the house was clean before you leave for work, and you bitched at me about how much chores you had to do. Name one way I fucked up our relationship."

My word was this asshole sexist. This wasn't the 1950's anymore. I said,

"Don't you know in the last almost a century, times have changed?! Women go to work, too. Men do housework as well as working. You clearly are clueless about twenty-first-century couples."

"What the fuck do you mean, bitch? There are things men do and things women do. Women cook and clean and men go to work."

"Get your ass out of the 20th century!"

"I'm watching your ass. I'm watching who you fuck at night, who you drink with and who you fuck around with."

"So you're stalking me?"

"And you're so pissed off with me, that you had a kid with another man! You're a bitch and a white trash whore."

To be quite honest, it was a little bit ironic that he was white, and I was every bit as white as he was, and yet he was calling me "white trash". I hung up on him. He then sent me a very disturbing picture of his hairy twig and berries. It was followed by a text that said,

"This isn't over!"

He called me the C word (you know, the one that rhymes with runt. But I didn't like to use that word because I thought it was beyond offensive). The fact that he was calling me names from "bitch" to "whore" to "white trash" was troubling enough. But the fact that he was bringing my daughter (By logic, his daughter, too. But when I was in my first trimester of the pregnancy, all the secrets that lead to our breakup came out. We were four and a half years apart- I was twenty-six, and I had Sofia six months before my twenty-seventh birthday, and I was going to be thirty-three in three months. David was about thirty-seven now) into all this was crossing the fucking line. I wrote his number down in case I had to file any reports with the cops. I printed out my timesheet and I decided to do my timesheet in the living room.

Sofia was laying on the sofa, sleeping with her Fur Real Friends panda with its rattle and bottle and her inhaler (with the spacer) by her side. She must have been playing with her panda earlier. She was covered in one of her blankets with Ariel on it. My god, did she look so adorable and peaceful while she was fast asleep. I filled out my timesheet and my mother came home.

"Hi,"

she said.

I whispered,

"Hey, Mom."

My mom was whispering too because she saw Sofia napping on the couch.

"Mamma mia, is it cold outside. We live in Florida, right?"

My mother was of Italian descent and at times, she would integrate Italian into her sentences, very much like Trish did with her Spanish, except Trish was Hispanic and my mom was a caucasian Italian-American.

"Where were you?"

My mom said,

"I was out getting my nails done. I had to grade a lot of papers, I need some pampering."

She took off her flip flops and showed me her fingernails and her toenails, which were colored in a gorgeous royal blue.

"Beautiful. I'm going to go make some tea. Do you want some, too?"

My mom said,

"I could go for some tea in this weather."

"What kind of tea do you want?"

"Chamomile."

"Me too."

My mom laughed.

"You _are_ your mother's daughter."

I giggled.

"While you were out getting your nails done, I got a call from _someone_."

My mom asked,

"Who?"

I said,

"David."

"David? As in, your ex-boyfriend who's been in and out of prison and who is on the sex offender registry?"

"Yeah. Him. He was yelling at me about how it's supposedly my fault that he was arrested and is on the sex offender registry."

"Oh my. That's awful."

"But wait, it gets better. He was cursing at me and making sexist remarks about how men work and women stay home and cook and clean. He actually admitted that he was stalking me and when I abruptly hung up on him, he sent me a message saying that this isn't over, followed by a picture of his penis."

"So sorry, honey."

"I'm just very afraid. Afraid he'll hurt me, or worse, you or Sofia."

"I'm here if you need anything, Ally. If we need to file a restraining order against David, we will."

"Thanks, Mom. If it gets to the point where he physically does anything to me or you or Sofia, I _will_ file a restraining order on him."

Sofia just staggered into the kitchen, slowly rubbing her large brown doe eyes that matched my own. Her small diamond stud earrings were slightly glistening in the lights. She had had her ears pierced since she was three months old. My mom said to her,

"Hi, my little munchkin."

Sofia said to her,

"Hi, grandma."

My mom got down to her height and cooed,

"Aren't you a little sleepyhead? Huh? Yeah."

I said,

"Yeah when I came into the den, she was asleep on the couch."

My mom planted a kiss on Sofia's cheek and Sofia started coughing a little bit.

"Oh, that reminds me- Sofia, you should probably take a breathing treatment."

"OK."

I went to the closet and got the nebulizer out and I had Sofia sit in the armchair. I attached the mask to Sofia's nose and mouth and she started breathing. Her pediatrician and a few respiratory therapists had strongly recommended it. It was one of the things that kept her asthma from flaring up and helped her breathe.

 **AUSTIN:**

I had proceeded making dinner, which was pork chops and green salad and bread. Jessica walked in, carrying a Wet Seal bag and a Forever 21 bag. I said,

"Hi, sweetie."

My daughter giggled.

"Hi, Daddy."

I asked,

"How was the mall with your friends?"

"Hella lit. As always."

"Lit" was part of the jargon teenagers used nowadays. It was different from when I was a teenager in the late 1990's, early 2000's, but hey, you know. Jessica Athena Moon was thirteen years old, but she looked and acted like she was fifteen years old. I said,

"That's great. Glad you had fun with your friends. Where's your brother?"

Max opened the door and I thought to myself, _Speak of the devil_. I said,

"Hey, son. How was the _Legend of Zelda_ movie?"

"Awesome. It was actually one of the few video game based movies that was actually good. Plus, there were tons of women in it. Maxy likey!"

Jessica rolled her blue eyes.

"Jesus Christ, Max, you're such a perv."

I said,

"Jessie, we don't take the lord's name in vain."

Max had quite a thing for women, particularly older women. He now had posters of bikini models in his bedroom. He had cut them out from my old Playboy issues.

"Anyway, I'm glad you kids are back. I have something serious I need to talk to you two about. Max, I'd like you to set the table because your sister did it last night when Ally and Sofia came over. Just get three plates, three napkins, three forks, three knives and three cups."

"Sure, Dad. By the way, have you asked her to be your girlfriend? She's hot,"

asked my son as he laid plates and napkins on the table.

"I'm going to ask Ally to be my girlfriend at some point. But I really like her, and she made me remember what it was like to be in love again after your mother and I split."

"Aw, are you not over Mom, Dad?"

Jessica asked me as she took a glass down from the cupboard and poured herself a glass of sparkling apple cider.

I said,

"Your mom and I are friends, Jessie. Depending on the state of affairs, I think it's perfectly fine to be friends with a former significant other. Which reminds me, what I need to talk to you guys about."

Both my kids were sitting at the table, either side of me.

"You guys remember my ex-girlfriend, Brooke?"

Max rolled his eyes and scoffed while picking up his knife and cutting his meat.

"How could I forget her?"

My daughter added,

"She was a prostitute, a drug addict, an alcoholic, only wanted sex with you-"

Max continued,

"Stole my pills and scarred me for the rest of my life when I walked in on you and her watching a smut movie."

I said,

"Not to mention porn seemed to be all she wanted to watch. After you kids left to go hang out with your friends, she facetimed me while she was topless and she had a balaclava and sunglasses on. She called me six times today and was sending me very indecent pictures on my cellphone."

My son and my daughter both grimaced. Jessica said,

"I'm not sure, but I think I just lost my appetite."

"She was saying a bunch of rude things about Ally. The point is, Brooke is a very maniacal person. If either of you come face to face with her, when I'm not there, you _will_ call me, yes?"

My kids said in unison,

"Yes, Dad."

Jessica took a bite of her salad and swallowed it. She then picked up her knife and fork again.

"I was sleeping over at Alanna's house the other night and we actually saw Brooke through Alanna's bedroom window."

"Wow."

Later, I got a call from Ally, saying,

"Hey, Austin. Can I talk to you?"

I said,

"Of course, Ally. My door is always open."

"I got a call from my ex-husband today. He was making a lot of chauvinistic comments to me, and he was berating me, and actually admitted that he's stalking me."

"It's OK, babe. I know how you feel."

Ally said to me,

"You know how I feel? What do you mean?"

"This morning, I was doing work on my computer for a couple of clients. My very maniacal ex-girlfriend Brooke called me six times, seven if you count a FaceTime call where she was bare-breasted and she was screeching at me. I worry about the safety of Max and Jessica, because Brooke doesn't live far from my house."

"I worry about the safety of my daughter and my mother and myself."

I said,

"If you need to, I can move you and Sofia in with me, and I swear I'll protect you guys. I'll be the father figure that Sofia needs and deserves."

Ally giggled a little.

"That would be amazing, Austin. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met."

 **I hope Austin and Ally can keep their kids safe from their maniacal exes. Because I don't even know who's worse- Brooke or David. But I'm just glad Austin and Ally are doing the best that they can to protect their children. If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Love my readers to the moon and back!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi guys! I decided to add a little bit of suspense and maybe write a little bit from the perspective of Austin's daughter, Jessica. It was inspired a bit by** _ **The Fosters**_ **(another show I love) storyline with the lockdown. OK, that's it for the disclaimer.**

 **JESSICA:**

Another day of school. I was in English class, writing down some vocabulary words in my journal. The assignment was to write down vocabulary words and then use them in sentences. Our teacher, Mr. Gatlin, was nonchalantly sitting at his desk eating a container of what looked to be pasta salad. My best friend Alanna Dillon was sitting beside me and she whispered to me,

"How do you like Ally?"

I said,

"I really like her. I like her way more than my dad's last girlfriend."

Alanna was tying her long, dark brown curly hair into a high half ponytail and folded one part of her hair behind her ear, revealing one of her gold hoop earrings. Alanna was one of the most beautiful girls I knew. She was biracial, being latina on her mom's side and Caucasian on her dad's side. My dad and her dad, Jace, went to high school and college together and besides Uncle Dez (Ironically, Dez was married to my mom's sister Carrie) and Jace was his best friend.

"Ally's always been like an aunt to me and my brother and sister, mostly because her and my mom are best friends. Also I babysit her daughter Sofia sometimes."

"Her daughter is so adorable and sassy."

"I know right."

"You should have seen my brother's first impression of Ally. He was actually hitting on her and told my Dad that he scored a hot girl."

Alanna laughed.

"Sounds like Max."

All of a sudden, the alarm started blaring and over the PA, we heard Mr. Williams's voice. He was saying in his noticeable African-American accent,

"Code blue. Code blue. This is no drill. Code blue, code blue. This is not a drill."

Mr. Gatlin was scrambling to the windows, closing the blinds. I asked,

"Mr. Gatlin, what's a code blue?"

"It means someone has a gun on campus. Now, everyone hide under your desks, don't make a sound, stay perfectly still."

He whispered loudly and shut all the window blinds frantically and put a chair in front of the door. I hid under my desk and nuzzled up to Alanna. I was very frightened. Who was at my school wielding a gun? Even worse, I discovered Max wasn't in class.

 _Where was Max?_

was what I mentally asked myself. What if he was with the shooter, whoever he was? It was making me feel guilty for all the times we bickered and how I would make fun of him for his poor hygiene (showering only two to three times a week, almost never brushing his teeth in the morning, constantly coming home sweaty from wrestling practice, etcetera) and for having ADHD and how I would rub it in his face that I was the older twin. We were as contentious as a brother and sister with clashing personalities could be. He was annoying, obnoxious, gross, lazy, sloppy and kind of perverted.

But underneath the surface of his annoying, gross personality, I loved him and cared about him. I snuck my phone out from the pocket of my vest. I was in a dress and I was sitting in a slightly inappropriate way, but I didn't give a goddamn rat's ass about how I was sitting. I wanted to make sure my brother was OK. I sent him a text message saying,

"MAXIMILIAN DEREK MOON WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

I used my brother's full name. Most of the time, my mom and dad used my brother's full name when he got himself into trouble. I felt my friend tap my shoulder and she handed me a note saying,

"Who are you texting?"

I took the piece of paper with the note Alanna had written me because it had more than enough room. I wrote,

"I'm texting Max. He's not in class right now. He went to the bathroom like ages ago. I'm anxious AF."

Alanna put down the piece of paper down and she locked me into an embrace. She was being sympathetic to me. After twenty minutes, I got a text message from Max, saying,

"What's with you using my full name?"

I texted back,

"Excuse me for being a loving, caring sister who doesn't want you to get a gunshot to the head. Someone's on campus with a gun."

He texted,

"I'm in the bathroom. I had to take a piss and when I was about to wash my hands, that damn alarm went off."

I texted,

"Just make sure whoever the culprit is doesn't see you."

My brother texted,

"Yes Jessie."

People called me "Jessie" or "Jess" sometimes. I preferred "Jessica" but I didn't mind being called "Jess" or "Jessie." After an hour, we were dismissed because they needed to evacuate the school. I knocked on the door to the boy's bathroom and surprisingly, it didn't smell as bad as I thought it would.

"Max?"

I said. I could hear Max say,

"In here. Third stall."

I knocked on the door and said,

"Open the door. We need to go because they need to evacuate the school."

My brother exited the bathroom stall with his backpack and I told him,

"I'm glad you're OK."

He said,

"Me too. We might squabble a lot and get on our parents' last nerves, but that doesn't mean I don't love you."

"Glad you feel that way. Now we gotta get our asses out of here before we get shot and killed."

My brother and I walked as conspicuously as we could, and we saw the SWAT team restraining a provocatively dressed woman screaming,

"GIMME YOUR GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING PILLS! I NEED THEM! I FUCKING NEED THEM!"

I recognized her immediately. It was Brooke- Dad's ex-girlfriend who he had met after he and Mom. Brooke was just about the craziest person I had ever met. Her screaming was like nails on a chalkboard when you had an ear infection and a migraine. I whispered to my brother,

"Ignore her. Walk away."

Alanna was standing outside the school, talking on her phone.

"I know it's your day off, but you need to come get me. There was a lockdown at school, someone was with a gun on campus."

She looked to see Max and I beside her and she said,

"Also, can Max and Jessica have a ride?"

"Which house are you guys at?"

Max replied,

"Our mom's. And who's that you're talking to?"

Alanna said,

"I'm calling my mom. I'm asking her for a ride."

"Thanks."

After ten minutes, Alanna's mom, Trish De La Rosa (she kept her birth last name) showed up in a gold prius and I could tell it was her because she was blaring a song in spanish. She was honking and she rolled down the window and screamed,

"Alanna! Max! Jessica! En el coche antes de que muchachos llevar un arma a su cabeza!"

My brother and I followed my friend into her car and Max asked her,

"Alanna, what's she saying? I don't speak spanish."

"She's telling us to get in the car before we get shot. My mom speaks spanish to my brother and sister and I and we speak it with her sometimes. "

Trish looked in the back and her tone of voice changed.

"Are you guys OK?"

Max said,

"Yeah we all made it out OK."

The hispanic woman turned to my best friend.

"Thank you so much for calling me, mija."

"Thank you for saving my life, mom."

"Of course I'm going to rescue you, mija. Te quiero, mi amor."

"Te quiero también, Mamá."

Alanna was biracial and I wish I could speak spanish the way she did. Trish started her car and she asked me and my brother,

"Max, Jessica, what's your mom's address again?"

I said,

"1233 NE 81st Terrace 33138."

"OK, thank you."

It took a little over fifteen minutes and Max told her,

"Thanks, Trish, for the ride home, and for saving our lives."

"You guys are my daughter's friends. I'll save whoever I have to."

We both embraced the plump and gorgeous latina woman and I embraced my best friend and we went to our mom's front door and entered the house. Mom was very confused when she saw us.

"Shouldn't you kids be at school?"

Max said,

"About that, Mom, someone came to school with a gun and we were on lockdown and we had to leave because they had to evacuate the school."

Mom hugged us both.

"Are you guys OK?"

I said,

"Yeah, Mom. We're fine. We're just a little shaken up about it."

We sat down in the living room on the sofa and we snuggled up to our mother. Max said,

"You're never going to guess who actually came to our school with the gun."

Mom asked,

"Who did?"

I said,

"Dad's ex-girlfriend, Brooke."

"Isn't Brooke that woman who stole your brother's ADHD pills and only seemed interested in sex when it came to your dad?"

Max said,

"Yup. She's psychotic. She works as a prostitute, takes drugs, drinks and actually admitted to Dad that she stalks him."

Mom looked concerned.

"I'm going to have to have a talk with your father about that."

I said,

"Aw, you care about him."

Mom said,

"I do. Things may not have worked out the way we wanted them to, but that doesn't mean I don't care about him. But at this point, I'm just glad my babies are OK."

Max said,

"Me too. Because I would hate to be hunted down by Dad's crazy ex-girlfriend who uses drugs and carries around a gun. Also Jessica and I weren't that far from her, but her breath smelled kind of funny."

Mom said,

"She was probably stoned on marijuana."

She kissed the tops of our heads and smiled at us both.

"Just seems like only yesterday you guys were born and I was holding you guys in the hospital."

 **Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! If you like the story remember to favorite, follow and review! Have a fantabulous day my readers! Peace, love, hugs and kisses!**


	12. Chapter 12

**AUSTIN:**

The twins were with Piper this weekend and it was very quiet, borderline awkward in the house. I texted Ally, saying,

"Hi, gorgeous."

She texted back,

"Hi, Austin."

I texted her asking,

"Max and Jessica are with their mom this weekend. Would you be interested in coming over tomorrow for coffee?"

Ally texted,

"Yes. I'd love to come over. Sofia will be with my mom."

I said,

"Great. Because I really like you, and I hope you know that."

Ally texted back,

"I really like you, too."

She was the first woman I had actually loved since Piper. What was in my mind was her pure, porcelain complexion and how it beautifully contrasted with her dark hair and blonde highlights and her gorgeous brown doe eyes. Piper and I had only been divorced for two years, but Ally was still the first woman I had loved since. I wondered what Piper's relationship with Richard was like, but whenever she saw him, she would always get some expensive present from him.

I woke up the next day, very eager for Ally to come over. I was showering, getting dressed, applying hair gel, brushing my teeth and putting on after shave. I could put on cologne this time because Sofia wasn't going with her. Ally came at nine, and she was holding a small bag and carrying a box and she looked as beautiful as she always did. I said to her,

"Hey, gorgeous."

Ally giggled.

"Hey, handsome."

"Come on in."

She walked in and I closed the door behind her. Ally was very sophisticated with her layered, shoulder long hair in soft curls and her makeup looked perfect. She was wrinkling her nose and sniffing and the way she was wrinkling her nose was adorable.

"Is that… cologne?"

I laughed.

"Yeah. You like?"

"I love. It's just… you don't normally wear cologne when you're with me."

I giggled.

"I normally don't wear cologne when I'm with you because I don't want to trigger Sofia's asthma."

"Makes sense. Glad you care about my daughter."

I said,

"I do care about Sofia. I love her. She's adorable and I love her energy."

I saw her put the box down on the counter.

"Sofia asks me about you a lot. She's asked me if I'm dating you, she's asked me if you and I will get married some day, she's asked me when she's gonna get to see you next, she says how much she loves you because you're nice to me."

I giggled.

"That's adorable."

Ally put her purse down.

"That's not even the most adorable thing she's done. She says things like, next time I see Austin I wanna give him lots of kisses and snuggles."

I laughed.

"She's so cute."

I heard the doorbell ring. That was weird. Aside from Ally, I wasn't expecting anyone. I sure hoped it wasn't the Rodgers-Evans' son Will. Beverly Rodgers and Marla Evans were a lesbian couple who lived nearby and their nine-year-old son, Will, was constantly ding-dong-ditching people.

Even Max thought he was annoying (and Max was a big prankster back in his day). Ally giggled.

"Did you secretly invite me to a party?"

I said,

"No. I'm not throwing a party. Besides you, I didn't invite anyone else over. Can I go answer the door real fast?"

Ally said,

"Sure."

I answered the door and it was my ex-wife, Piper. I was kind of in a thorny state of affairs. I said,

"Um, hi, Austin. I need to talk to you about something."

I was very torn. I didn't want to be rude, but at the same time it was kind of awkward having my ex-wife be here and when I was getting together with my would-be girlfriend. On top of that, Piper's presence right now was kind of intimidating for me. I didn't know why it was, but I felt like a schoolboy in the principal's office.

Ally joined me and I said to her,

"Um, Ally, this is Piper, Max and Jessica's mother. Piper, this is Ally. Ally is who I've been seeing."

Piper and Ally seemed to right away get off on the right foot, firmly shaking each other's hands. Ally was saying,

"Very nice to meet you, Piper."

"Nice to meet you too, Ally. You're beautiful."

"Thank you. You are, too."

My ex-wife followed Ally and I into the kitchen and she asked,

"How long have you guys been seeing each other?"

I put my arm around Ally and I looked down at her beautiful face.

"A little over a month. We met in the drugstore pharmacy line. I was getting the refill of Max's ADHD pills."

Ally started to laugh a little. Her laugh was so sexy.

"I remarked that he had pads and that I had never seen a man carry pads before and he was right behind me in line to get Max's pills."

"Yeah, because Jessica got her period. Why were you in the pharmacy line, Ally?"

Ally replied,

"I was getting inhaler refills for my daughter. She had an asthma attack and she doesn't have them often, but I try to prevent her asthma attacks as much as I can."

Piper asked her,

"Is she alright?"

Ally said,

"Yeah. She just needs to see her pediatrician every three months and she needs to have a breathing treatment at least once a day for twenty minutes. She was diagnosed at two and she's six now."

"Is she triggered by a lot?"

"Just by cold weather, chemicals, smoke, house dust mites, dust, mold and pollutants. That's about it."

Ally took out her phone and she turned it on, revealing her lock screen, which was a picture of Sofia in a gold and pink studded dress-up tiara with Princess Aurora on it and she was blowing a kiss. Piper started gushing,

"Awww, how cute she is."

Ally chuckled.

"She loves to dress up in little princess outfits. Because she's my princess."

I looked at my ex-wife.

"That used to be Jessica. Remember when she would run around our old house in her princess dresses and tiaras?"

Piper smiled nostalgically.

"Now she steals my makeup and my jewelry."

"If it makes you feel better, Max steals my aftershave and my playboy magazines."

"Which reminds me, why I wanted to talk to you. Yesterday, Max and Jessica had to leave school early because your ex-girlfriend came to their school with a gun and put the school on lockdown."

I said,

"My ex-girlfriend, as in, Brooke Carter?"

Piper replied,

"Yes, her. Your ex-girlfriend Brooke came to the kids' school with a gun. The same, drug-addicted, alcoholic, prostitute ex-girlfriend who stole Max's pills. Are you keeping them safe from her?"

I said,

"Yes, I am. I'm doing everything I can."

Piper was really starting to get worked up. When we married, I loved her but one thing I didn't like about her was that she sometimes had the paitence of a Tasmanian Devil.

"Doing everything you can? That's not good enough."

I really didn't want Piper's somewhat impatient and hot-tempered streak to rub off on me, but honestly, Piper indirectly questioning my skills as a father was making my blood boil.

"So you're saying I'm a bad father?!"

Piper started shouting at me once again.

"DO _NOT_ PUT WORDS IN MY FUCKING MOUTH, AUSTIN MOON."

I could see a fight coming from a mile away. No, wait- ten miles away. I was trying not to get irate because I didn't want Ally to see me fight with my ex-wife about our children. But the tension and pressure were building inside of me. It was bad enough that we would fight, scream and yell profanity in front of Max and Jessica, but I didn't want to do it in front of the girl who I wanted to be my girlfriend.

"You _are!_ You _are_ saying that I'm a bad father!"

"You are fucking lazy, Austin! You do nothing but lie on your lazy ass and watch TV and you armchair parent! Even now, you're blissfully ignorant to your psychotic ex-girlfriend who does drugs and sells herself on the street, who has reaked havoc on the kids' school? Like, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

I always knew Piper wasn't a person you wanted to get on the bad side of, but I hadn't seen her lose her temper in about five years.

"Don't you say I'm blissfully ignorant! I am doing everything I can to protect our children from harm's way!"

"If you do everything you can to protect our two children from harm's way, like you claim to do, what have you done about Brooke?"

 **I decided to put a cliffhanger and some drama :O :O. You're welcome :) Yikes, a very ugly fight between Austin and Piper. Who do you guys think is more to blame, Austin or Piper? I just feel bad for Ally that she had to see their fight. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Remember, if you like the story, favorite, follow and review! Love you my readers and I can't thank you enough for your support.**


	13. Chapter 13

**So did the end of Chapter 12 have you on the end of your seats? It did for me, and I'm the one creating this story! But the suspense and drama don't stop there- look out for more later in the story ;) X-). Also I'm making this a two part POV. One part is in Ally's POV and the other is in Austin's. OK, I'll shut my mouth and get on with the story ;).**

 **ALLY:**

If there was one thing I hated, it was being in the middle of an altercation between two people. Austin and Piper were shouting at each other frantically. It was very awkward and unpleasant to listen to. David and I would get into arguments when he would come home from the job he hated the fucking crap out of, very often he'd come home angry and blasted on moonshine or high on heroin, cocaine or marijuana, but that didn't mean I _liked_ wrangling with people, even people who were disrespectful to me.

But the best way was just to remain the three C's- calm, cool and collected. I gently asked,

"Can I call a timeout?"

Austin and Piper stopped arguing and looked back at me.

"Hold on a minute, what's going on here? No yelling and use clean language and mature communication skills. Please, tell me what's going on."

 **(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have to applaud Ally for defusing the confrontation between Austin and Piper. I also feel bad for her that she has to be in the middle of the wrangle to begin with)**

Piper was still a little worked up, but I could see she was trying her best to keep her cool.

"Austin is completely ignorant to the fact that his ex-girlfriend endangered our twins' school by coming there with a gun. The same ex-girlfriend who claimed Max's pills and sells herself on the street and is a drug-head and alcoholic. I think it's totally unacceptable that he's not doing anything about it."

I said,

"OK. Now Austin, let's hear your side of the story."

Austin said to me,

"My side of the story is that I thought after I broke up with Brooke, I thought she would leave me alone. But she didn't- she started stalking me, harassing me and even endangered our kids. I feel like she's blaming me for all the havoc my ex-girlfriend is instigating on me and the kids."

I wanted to settle this altercation once and for all.

"Piper, I can comprehend that you want to keep Max and Jessica safe from harm's way, and I praise you for that, but that's not an excuse to lash out at Austin. It's not his fault. A lot of the things you said to him were completely uncalled for. And Austin, you have things to work on as well. You should be doing a little bit more to protect your kids."

Austin was clearly thinking about what I said.

"I'm more than willing to do more to protect our kids. I care about Max and Jessica more than anything else in this world, and I'll take a bullet for them. They're my children."

I said,

"That's good, Austin."

I looked at Piper, giving her a cue to say what she needed to working. Part of being a grown-up was admitting your shortcomings and doing what you could to be better. She looked at Austin, clearly feeling guilty about everything she had said.

"I do want to protect my kids. Austin, I'm sorry I flew off the handle and had that little outburst. I feel absolutely mortified that I discounted you in front of Ally."

 **AUSTIN:**

 ***FLASHBACK- 3 years ago***

A few weeks after Piper and I had divorced, we had decided to meet for lunch at the S&S Diner. The pretty black server, with a nametag that read _Shaina_ on it, had asked me,

"Are you here alone?"

I said,

"No, I'm waiting for someone."

I had seen Piper out of the blue and I had said to Shaina,

"Here she is."

Shaina was acknowledged Piper's presence and she said,

"I'll come back in a while."

Piper started toward the table I was at and I got up, and I kissed her on the cheek.

"Hi, Piper."

"Hi, Austin."

My ex-wife was sitting across from me. Out of the blue, I said,

"This isn't the way we thought life between us would go after we got married. I did plenty of things that screwed up our relationship."

Piper said to me,

"Austin, you're a good man, and you're a good father, but for the past year, neither of us have been happy. I love you, but I'm not _in_ love with you, and I know you could say the same thing about me."

Piper was correct, but I wanted this little date to be calm and peaceful and I didn't want to say or do anything that I would regret later. I said,

"We both have done things that we're not proud of. I was sick and tired of fighting with you all the time and how we would fight and shout at each other right in front of the kids. Neither of us want Max and Jessica being raised in that kind of environment."

Piper piped in.

"That's true. How explosive we were towards each other when we were together was being passed down to Max and Jessica fighting even more than they already do."

"I can't even remember the last time we were intimate with each other, and our conflicting parenting styles were driving us apart. Not even therapy was working for us. The divorce was painful for us both, but it showed me that I need to be a little bit more of a hands-on parent."

Piper said,

"And I should have more patience when I need to discipline the kids."

Piper tried to use the techniques from the reality show with the nanny with the english accent who visited the families with kids who misbehaved, I forgot the name of the reality show and I barely even paid attention to the show in the first place, but she would lose her patience very easily due to her frustration when the kids wound her up.

"But you never know, you might meet someone new, and I might meet someone new."

And Piper was right. She had Richard and I had Ally.

 ***FLASHBACK ENDS***

I held out my arms to embrace my ex-wife and she hugged me back. Ally smiled. Ally's smile was beautiful. Piper looked at Ally.

"I'm really sorry you had to see that fight between us, Ally,"

she said.

I said,

"Me too, Ally. I promise, you'll never see Piper and I fight again."

Ally smiled.

"That doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy you guys made up."

I turned to my ex-wife.

"Are we OK?"

Piper snickered a little.

"Yeah we're fine. I'm sorry I can't stay longer, I made plans with Richard in a half-hour, we're seeing _My Friend Dahmer_."

 **(AUTHOR'S NOTE: See what I did there ;) Can't wait to see** _ **My Friend Dahmer**_ **when it comes out. Mostly because Mr. sexypants Ross Lynch is in it 3:). Just thought I'd do a little promotion for** _ **My Friend Dahmer**_ **while I write the story)**

Ally asked,

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Piper smiled.

"Yeah. We've been seeing each other for a few weeks now."

She held up her gold purse.

"He gave this gold bag to me as a present."

Piper beamed at us.

"Maybe some time, the four of us can go out for drinks or dinner. You and Ally, me and Richard."

I said.

"I'd be over the moon to do that."

"You two lovemuffins enjoy your time together,"

I gave my ex a warm embrace (I didn't feel comfortable kissing her in front of Ally) and she hugged me back and left out the door.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! I'm just glad Austin and Piper are good now. I personally think Piper was more to blame in the last chapter. I know she wants to protect Max and Jessica, and I do think Austin should be doing a little more to ward off Brooke, but Piper flew off the handle with him. If you guys like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review. Love you guys :D :) 3**


	14. Chapter 14

**AUSTIN:**

When Piper had dropped the hammer on me, it made me realize that I need to be more active in protecting my kids. Max and Jessica were back at my house, and I was in my office calling the Miami Police Department. I heard a light latino accent say,

"Hola, this is Miami PD."

I said,

"Hi, this is Austin Moon. I'd like to file a report."

"Who are you reporting? Please state their name and address."

"Brooke Carter. Her address is 2451 Brickell Avenue, Apartment 18S, Miami, FL 33129."

"Why are you reporting Brooke Carter?"

"She's a danger to my two children and she's a danger to me, too. She works as a prostitute, drinks, stole my son's ADHD pills and uses drugs. She endangered my kids by coming to their school, Calvin Coolidge Middle School with a firearm."

"We're sorry you have had this experience, Mr. Moon. We will find her and take her into custody."

"Thanks, officer. Bye."

"Goodbye."

I could hear Max pant while saying,

"Dad? There you are."

I turned to see my son sweating like a barn animal and panting. His earbuds were in his ears and his phone, a silver iPhone 7 covered in a green camouflage case. He was pulling the earpods from his ears and he put his phone in his pocket.

"I was doing some work up here. Sorry, Max. I didn't hear you come in. And I've never seen anyone sweat as much as you are right now."

"I went running at like a hundred miles an hour. It helps me with my chemical imbalance and my fitness."

"Good for you. And when was the last time you showered?"

"About three days ago."

"You should go shower. You're thirteen years old, Max. You should be showering more."

"OK, OK, I'll go shower now."

Max headed into the shower, where Jessica was just coming from. She was in her robe and pulling a comb through her long blonde hair.

"Dad, why were you calling the cops?"

"I'm turning Brooke in,"

I said.

"She's not gonna be bothering us anymore."

"Thank god. When she came to Max's and my school with a gun, that was the last straw."

"Your mom told me and we got into one nasty fight."

"Like what you did when Max and I were younger?"

I didn't like being reminded of how Piper and I used to squabble in front of our kids, but Jessica was making a very accurate comparison. I texted my ex to tell her,

"Hey, Piper. I have something to tell you."

"What is it? Is everything OK?"

I texted,

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to let you know I called the cops on Brooke."

"I'm proud of you, Austin. You're doing what you can to protect the kids from harm's way."

I said,

"Max and Jessica are every bit my kids as they are yours. I'll take a bullet for them."

Piper texted,

"Wow lol."

My lock screen and my homescreen on my phone was a picture of me and my twins at the Calvin Coolidge Middle School beach cleanup at South Beach and they were each holding a garbage bag and a picker upper stick. On my computer was an old picture of Max and Jessica the night of their first middle school dance. I suddenly discovered an email from Ally and it said that Sofia was missing.

The email immediately sent chills down my spine. I loved Sofia as much as Ally did and the fact that Ally had said that Sofia had asthma honestly was amplifying my fear. I heard Jessica say,

"Dad?"

"Jessie, I just got an email from Ally that Sofia was missing."

Jessica entered with her hair in a fishtail braid and she had her pajamas on.

"I have a little something to tell you on that subject. I looked on Instagram and I found these very emotionally disturbing posts of Ally's daughter. They're not only disturbing but they're pornographic."

"What do you mean, Jessica Athena? Let me see."

There were times when I would use Jessica's middle name. She showed me to an Instagram account named fuckmeup75. There was a picture of Sofia naked on a bed and crying. Jessica showed me a video of a strong pair of hands pushing up and down on a naked Sofia and she was crying hysterically while wailing,

"Stop it!"

"You're hurting me!"

"I don't like that!"

"Stop touching me there! I don't like it!"

It honestly made my blood boil when I heard of people who tortured or raped children. This is going to sound very immature of me to say out loud, but whenever I heard of people doing to kids what whoever fuckmeup75 was doing to Sofia, I wanted to punch the living shit out of them. I just felt very bad for Ally, only imagining how she was feeling.

Jessica hugged me.

"I'm scared for Sofia. She's the little sister I never had."

"Me too. I've never worried so much about a child who wasn't even my child. But what makes me so petrified is Sofia's health."

Jessica asked me,

"What's wrong with Sofia?"

I said,

"Ally said that she has asthma due to being born four weeks premature."

My daughter said,

"I kind of noticed that. When I met her and Max and I were playing with her, she was coughing a lot. I think you should have Ally over and console her."

I said,

"That's a great idea."

 **Awww Austin is so sweet because he wants to console Ally after her daughter went missing. As for Sofia, I hope she's found soon because I hate when people think it's OK to do to children what that anonymous Instagram man was doing to her. If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review. I love you guys to the moon and back!**


	15. Chapter 15

**ALLY:**

I was so worried about Sofia now that she had gone missing. What amplified my worries was the fact that she had asthma. I was scared that she could stop breathing or even die. Austin had invited me over for drinks and I was so appreciative for that. I showed up on the front step of his home and I tightly gripped him as he answered the door.

"Hi, Ally. I heard about what happened with Sofia. I'm really sorry."

I said,

"Thanks, Austin."

He kissed my cheek and let me into his home. Jessica was close behind him and she tightly embraced me and I embraced her back.

"Sorry, Ally. I feel horrible for you."

"It's not your fault, Jessie,"

I told her.

"But I think I know who the culprit is. I can show you their Instagram. But I have to warn you, Ally, they're very disturbing to look at."

Austin was looking at his daughter.

"Are you telling Ally about those obscene posts you saw on Instagram?"

She went over and whispered in his ear.

"Oh. Makes sense."

"Ally, I've got something to show you."

The five-foot-four blonde teenager reached into the pocket of her coral colored skinny jeans and pulled out her phone. She went onto her Instagram and pulled up an account named fuckmeup75. She showed me a disturbing picture of Sofia in the raw and crying and the even more disturbing video of her naked and crying while the guy (only his hands were visible in the video) was pushing her up and down and touching her in her private area while she was crying and repeatedly telling him to stop.

"I know who fmeup75 is. He's my ex-boyfriend David Shigeta."

Austin and his daughter were gravely listening to me.

"David was my boyfriend about eight years ago. He started off as a really nice guy, but then within two years, I found out he was using drugs and drinking, and he would lie to me a lot by saying he had to work late, but I discovered he was cheating on me by having sex with fifteen-year-old girls. He's on the sex offender registry."

Austin had a long face.

"I remember David Shigeta. He would make my life hell in elementary school and middle school."

Jessica turned to Austin.

"He bullied you?"

"Yeah. He made my life miserable. He would give me wedgies, shove me into or against lockers and call me names, including homophobic slurs, he would steal my lunch money and he would beat my ass. I haven't seen him since I was about your age, maybe a little younger, Jessica, but I don't think I'll ever forget the time at the school dance when he told Cassidy Lombardi, this girl I had a crush on at the time, that I had AIDS and I was spreading it to people. He got expelled from school, but I was still mortified by it."

His daughter even looked shamefaced.

"I've never met this guy and I hate his ass. First bullying my dad, then cheating on you, then kidnapping a six-year old with asthma! That's messed up."

I got another warm hug from Jessica and she said to me,

"Ally, I think I should get your number and I'll give it to Max, too."

"Where _is_ Max, anyway?"

Jessica said,

"Um, he's with a few of his friends."

I gave her my phone and she gave me hers and we punched each others' numbers in.

Austin said to her,

"Um, thanks, Jessie, but can I have my alone time with my girlfriend?"

Jessica said,

"Um, sure, Dad."

I giggled a little.

"Did you just call me your girlfriend?"

He smiled.

"Yeah."

"You can call me your girlfriend under one condition. You can call me your girlfriend if I can call you my boyfriend."

"I can agree to that. What do you think we should do about Sofia, though?"

I said,

"We should go get her. I still have David's address. He lives in Liberty City."

Austin seemed a little hesitant.

"Liberty City?"

I said,

"I know it's the part of town that always smells like pot and has people doing drugs, but my daughter's life is on the line."

"I care way more about Sofia's safety than having to go to a dump."

The two of us drove to David's apartment. Liberty City was the most ghetto part of Miami and it wasn't a nice place to be at all. I locked my car and Austin followed me in and I was shaking as I rang the doorbell. I whispered to my boyfriend,

"Austin, I'm scared."

"I don't blame you. I'm scared for you."

David answered the door and his presence was sending my chills.

"What the fuck are you doing here, you cunt ass bitch?"

I could see the pressure building up inside of Austin and he was saying,

"You don't call a woman that, David! I don't give a goddamn shit about the shit you did to me twenty motherfucking years ago, but leave Ally and her daughter alone! Or else."

"Or else what? You gonna challenge me, Moon?"

I just ran inside to look for my daughter and I found her lying unconscious on the bed in what I could only assume was David's bedroom. I called,

"Sofia? Can you hear me?"

I knelt over her, her heart was still. I had decided to do CPR, giving her the thirty chest compressions and pumping very hard and very fast. I gently lifted her chin up, pinching her nose and blowing into her mouth and that was what made Sofia's heart resume beating and her pulse wake up. She was coughing and wheezing a little bit, but she was OK.

"Mommy?"

I heard her say. I picked her up, one hand on the back of her head and neck and the other on her hips and bottom and stroking the back of her hair. She was six, not a baby, but right now I didn't care. I just wanted to make sure she was OK.

"Are you OK, baby girl?"

I asked as I gently put her down and picked her up again, putting her on one hip.

"Mommy, I'm scared. He was touching me in my private parts even when I told him stop it and he was hurting me and I didn't like it."

She nuzzled against my shoulder, clinging to my collarbone. I was pacifying my daughter because I was very afraid for her.

"Austin and I have come here to save you. Come on."

We heard a very loud gunshot outside and I ran outside, balancing Sofia on my hip. Austin was laying on the floor, gasping for breath and there was blood trickling from his stomach. In the exact place where a hernia may be, but Austin didn't have a hernia.

"Ally? Ally?"

He was saying, gasping for breath. He collapsed and I looked at David with anger written all over me. I gritted my teeth and said angrily,

"First you abduct my daughter, who you got me pregnant with, and molest her, now you shoot my boyfriend. You are going to freaking pay for this!"

I called 911 and followed the ambulance in my car with Sofia to Mercy Hospital. I called the police on David because I needed to protect myself, Sofia and the rest of my family.

 **This chapter is one hard pill to swallow. But what I can say is Ally has every right to hate David with the fire of a million suns. I'm glad Sofia is safe, I hope Austin will survive and I wonder how Max and Jessica will react to this. More on that next chapter *zips lips*. If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Have an amazing colombus day/indigenous peoples' day (At my community college we call it flex day haha) weekend! Love you my readers!**


	16. Chapter 16

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **I decided to have this part told by Austin's daughter, Jessica, just like I did in Chapter 11. But did last chapter have you on the edge of your seats? It did for me, and I'm the one writing it! Bad enough David raped and molested Ally's daughter, now he shoots Austin. I wanna punch the crap of that douchehole. OK, I'll shut my mouth and tell the story.**

 **JESSICA:**

Dad and Ally had been gone for a while, and I was starting to worry. Max was upstairs in his bedroom, playing a video game. I was just sitting on the sofa in my dad's living room with a sherpa throw blanket covered in multi-colored floral designs and my feet, covered in pink and white furry fairisle boot slippers, were on top of the coffee table. I felt my phone ring in my pocket. It was Ally.

"Hey, Ally. So glad you called. I'm starting to worry about you and my dad."

"Hi, Jessica. Sofia and I are in my car, I need to get you and Max. Your dad and I were rescuing Sofia at my ex-boyfriend's house and he shot him in the stomach."

This was very scary news for me. I had never had someone I was close to falling victim to a gunshot wound before.

"What? Is he OK?"

"I hope he is. He's in the ER and the doctors are checking him out. You need to get Max. I'm going to take you two and Sofia to the hospital."

"OK, I'll get him. How far away are you?"

"I'll be there in ten minutes. See you then, Jessica."

I ran upstairs to Max's room and walked in. I could smell his laundry from the basket in the corner and it wasn't a pleasant smell, but I didn't care because my dad's life was on the line. Max was playing a game on his phone.

"Max, get a sweatshirt and shoes on. Ally called me saying Dad was shot in the stomach by her ex."

"What? Is Dad OK?"

"I hope he is. Now, quickly get on a layer and shoes. I'll meet you downstairs. Ally will be here soon."

"Yes, Mom,"

I cringed my face and made a mocking tone at him. Max walked into his closet and I went to my room, put my blanket on my bed, put on my pink hoodie and coral pink ballet flats.

We got to the hospital, Ally was carrying Sofia on her hip and I saw Max take out his phone.

"Max, who are you texting?"

My twin brother whispered to me,

"I'm group texting Mom, Uncle Randy and Grandma and Grandpa what happened. If Dad is in the hospital, we should probably stay at mom's overnight."

A black female doctor, with her black braided hair tied into a bun, came out. She had a lab coat and royal blue scrubs and a stethoscope around her neck, touching her shoulders. Her name tag read _Dr. Bernadette Franklin_. Her black accent was very thick.

"Althea Dawson?"

she was asking. Ally was still balancing Sofia on one hip and she replied,

"That's me, Doctor."

"Your boyfriend's condition is critical."

I stepped in front of the black doctor.

"What do you mean by critical?"

"What I mean is, he's lost a large amount of blood and his small intestine and his pancreas are severely swollen and wounded."

Max asked,

"Is he going to survive?"

"We hope so for your sake."

I asked,

"Can we see him? I'm Jessica and this is my brother, Max. We're his kids."

Dr. Franklin said,

"As soon as he's stable. Until then, you guys can go in the waiting room and I'll send another doctor to come get you, OK?"

Max said,

"OK."

In the hospital waiting room, I was sitting with Max on the left and I said,

"You know, this is the hospital we were born at."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Mom said."

Despite being divorced, Mom and Dad still had pictures of when they were still together on their walls. I pulled out my phone and pulled up a picture of Mom and Dad holding Max and I when we were born. Mom was holding me and Dad was holding Max. In another picture, Mom and Dad were at the pumpkin patch with Max and I (we were both about three years old in the picture). Mom was holding Max on her hip and Dad was holding me on his.

"I'm scared for Dad,"

I whispered to Max. I squabbled with him a lot, but that didn't mean I didn't love him. My brother put his arm around me and whispered,

"I know. I am, too. But I think he's gonna be OK. Remember a while ago when he had a kidney stone? He ended up OK."

I said,

"Max, this is different from a kidney stone. Dad was shot by Ally's ex-boyfriend. He probably has a bullet in his stomach and a scar that we can pretty well bet on will never go away."

I looked to the side. Sofia was nuzzled into Ally's chest, and I could see she was starting to cry a little bit.

"You OK, Sofia?"

I heard Ally ask.

"Mommy, I'm scared Austin will die. I don't want him to die."

Ally was pacifying Sofia, by hugging her and kissing the top of her hair. Sofia was wiping her brown eyes that she had inherited from Ally that were red and puffy. I'm going to be honest, it was breaking my heart to see a child as young as Sofia crying.

"I love Austin. He's like my Daddy. I don't want him to leave me."

Ally was whispering in a soothing voice, but just loud enough for Max and I to hear. A perfect library voice.

"I think he'll be OK. We just have to stay positive, OK?"

Sofia slowly stopped crying and started to calm down. A black male doctor walked in and called,

"Althea Dawson?"

Ally said,

"That's me,"

Sofia stood up and Max and I followed her.

"Dr. Franklin sent me here to get you. She said to say that your boyfriend, Austin Moon, is stable now. We need to get him up to get his screenings, but you may see him briefly."

Max asked,

"Can we go, too?"

I piped in.

"We're his son and daughter."

"Sorry, you two. Just the one who Mr. Moon is involved in a romantic relationship with at the moment."

Ally looked at Max, Sofia and I.

"Sorry, kids. I hope there'll be a time when you guys can see him, too. But can you two watch Sofia?"

Max said,

"Sure, Ally."

Ally got down to the height of her six-year-old daughter and whispered,

"Be good for Max and Jessica, OK?"

Sofia said,

"OK. But Mommy, will you tell me if Austin's OK?"

Ally said,

"I promise. You guys will know, too."

She walked off, and Max and I now had little Sofia. Our dad wasn't the only one who I wanted to make sure was OK. Max was sitting beside me, and I lifted the young six-year-old onto my lap and I said to her,

"Now, your Mommy told me that her ex-boyfriend kidnapped you and did some things to you that hurt you and made you uncomfortable. Is that true?"

Sofia clung on to me and she nuzzled up to me.

"Yeah. I don't like that he touched me when I told him stop. Mommy says not to let people do that."

I said,

"That's what my mom said to me too when I was younger. But I promise, Max and I will always be there for you. Max and I do fight a lot, but you can trust us to protect you and love you unconditionally."

Sofia clearly was happy to hear this and she hugged me and she climbed off of me and let Max lift her up on his lap and she hugged him and he rubbed her back. _I hope she never grows up_ , I thought to myself. Sofia coughed a little bit.

Max asked her,

"How long has that cold you got lasted?"

Sofia answered him,

"I don't have a cold. I have asthma."

 **I hope Austin's going to be OK ;). But I love how comforting Ally, Max and Jessica are with Sofia and next chapter, Ally will see Austin. Fingers crossed he'll be OK! If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review. Love you, my readers!**


	17. Chapter 17

**ALLY:**

I walked out of the waiting room and found Dr. Franklin again.

"Excuse me, Dr. Franklin?"

She turned to me and said,

"Yes, can I help you, Althea?"

Most people called me Ally, but I didn't mind being called Althea.

"What room is Austin Moon?"

"He's in ICU, fifth floor. He needs to have images done in a few minutes, but you may see him now. I hope for the best, for him and for you."

"Thank you."

Dr. Franklin walked away and the elevator door opened. I pushed the five button and found ICU immediately. Austin was laying in the bed, with a neck brace that went from his jaw and his chin to his neck. His eyes were still closed, he was hooked up to an IV, and a male nurse was covering up his bloody stomach with gauze and napkins and pumping fluids into his mouth. I grabbed a nearby swivel chair and scooted toward the bed.

"Hi,"

I whispered, putting my hand on top of his. The nurse had finished giving him fluids and now put a mask around his nose and mouth. I looked at the IV monitor, keeping track of his breathing and blood pressure. His blood pressure was very low and his oxygen levels were very low, too. He was laying in the hospital bed perfectly still.

It felt like the part in _Snow White and the seven dwarves_ where Snow White lied in the glass coffin after she was put under the evil Queen's spell with the poisoned apple and the dwarves mourned for her because they were under the pretense that the apple had killed her. I didn't know if Austin was unconscious or dead, but I hoped it was the former and not the latter. I whispered,

"I love you. I hope you're OK."

After I had said, "I hope you're OK," something amazing happened. Austin's eyes slowly opened. He saw my hand on top of his and he gently grabbed onto it. I said,

"The kids are OK. Sofia is with Max and Jessica and they're watching her."

He nodded since he obviously couldn't talk. I planted a kiss on his cheekbone.

"I'm just glad you're alive."

A doctor named Dr. Joseph walked in, saying,

"Ms. Dawson, we apologize to interrupt your time with Mr. Moon, but we need to take him up to imaging."

"OK. Keep me posted."

"By all means, Althea."

I wrote down my cell phone number on a post-it. I went over to Austin again and I kissed him on the cheek. I only got about five minutes to see Austin, but what was consoling me was the fact that he was alive. He was going to live. I went back down to the hospital lobby and I saw Max, Jessica and Sofia. All three of the kids stood up in my presence, Sofia was holding onto his hand. Max asked,

"How is he?"

"He's fine. He's opened his eyes. I think he's going to be OK."

Sofia let go of Max's hand and she walked closer to me and I put her on my hip. I said to Max and Jessica,

"It's almost nine PM. Max and Jessica, to be quite honest, I worry about you two being alone while your dad's in the hospital. Do you have somewhere you can stay until your dad is able to come home?"

Jessica said,

"Yeah. I called our Mom, she's on her way to come get us."

"Alright. That's good. Jessica, I know you have my number and I have yours, Max, I need your number and I'll give you mine."

Max handed me his phone and I handed him my phone. I was amazed at how well I was doing with balancing Sofia on one hip and putting my cell phone number into my would-be stepson's phone. Jessica was saying,

"Hi, Mom. Yeah, we're on the first level by the check-in desk. It's OK, Ally's here too and she said he's gonna be OK. See you in a few minutes. Bye."

She put the phone in the pocket of her skinny jeans.

"That was Mom. She said she was on her way."

I gently put my daughter down and Max and Jessica tightly hugged me. Sofia also tightly embraced them. She lifted up her arms, which was telling me she wanted me to pick her up again and I lifted her up and put her on my hip. Sofia yawned a little bit, nuzzling onto my shoulder. I whispered,

"You getting sleepy?"

She gently nodded and Max and Jessica went to Piper's car and I brought Sofia back home. My mom was sitting on the sofa, reading _The Girl with the dragon tattoo._ I opened the door and called,

"Hi, Mom."

I put Sofia down as soon as we got home and my mom walked in and when she saw Sofia, her face lit up immediately.

"Hi baby! Grandma was so worried about you!"

She picked Sofia up and let her head snuggle on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. She put my daughter back down, and came down to Sofia's level.

"Are you OK?"

"I'm OK, Grandma. It was scary for me because he hurt me."

"Your mommy and I will keep you safe, no matter what, sweetheart. OK?"

"OK."

Sofia was hugging my mom and my mom gave her a kiss on her cheek. I said,

"Come on, baby. Go grab some panties and pajamas and let's give you a bath."

"OK."

I got my daughter in the bathtub and I went to the kitchen to find my mother.

"Mom, after all that happened today, I need some wine."

"What happened today?"

I said,

"Well, besides saving Sofia from David?"

"David? As in your ex-boyfriend?"

"Yes, him. The one person who helped me figure out who kidnapped Sofia was Austin's thirteen-year-old daughter. She showed me a video from an Instagram account called (I whispered this part) fuckmeup75 and in the posts, he was torturing Sofia and he was posting pictures of her naked. He was molesting her and raping her."

My mom and I walked into the kitchen and I grabbed a bottle of Rosé and two glasses.

"I absolutely shrink from people who shamelessly rape and torture children. Especially when they're young children."

"That's why I broke up with David. Because he's a pedophile and he's on the sex offender registry."

I asked,

"Do you want some ice in your wine?"

"OK. Three cubes please."

I went to the kitchen and grabbed eight ice cubes. Five for me, three for my mom. I was pouring Rosé for my mom and I said sarcastically,

"Oh, but wait, it gets better. I went with Austin to rescue Sofia and before I left, David shot him in the stomach."

"Is Austin OK?"

"Yes, he's fine. His small intestin and his pancreas are very severly wounded, though."

"Do you think Sofia knows that David is her father?"

I said,

"No, and I plan on never telling her. I was waiting to see Austin before he went to go get screenings, and Sofia called Austin Daddy. She was crying because she didn't know if he was going to live and it was heartbreaking."

"I don't blame her. Austin is the first guy you've loved in a long time."

After fifteen minutes, Sofia showed up in blue flowered pajamas with Cinderella and pink furry Disney Princess slippers and she had a bottle of detangling spray in one hand and a wide toothed comb and my mom and I were with her in the bathroom. I sprayed my daughter's hair with the detangling spray and I was combing her hair. I said to her,

"You're so beautiful, you know that."

"Thank you, Mommy. Can I sleep your bed tonight? Austin got shot by the man who hurt me and touched me in my private place."

I said,

"OK. You can sleep in Mommy's bed tonight."

I found a face towel and I covered the other side of my bed and Sofia came in, carrying her panda plush toy and her Minnie and Mickey Mouse plush toys and she came back in with the book she wanted me to read to her, which was KY Craft's rendition of _Cinderella_. I had read to her and she had proceeded to pray. We weren't even religious and she was saying,

"Dear lord, please let Austin be OK. I love him because he's like my Daddy and he's nice to me and calls me a munchkin. I love him and he loves me. Thank you, god."

Sofia snuggled up beside me. I asked her,

"Are you praying for Austin, baby?"

"Yeah. Because I love him and he loves me. He's my Daddy."

When I heard Sofia call Austin "Daddy", it almost brought tears of joy to my eyes. She loved him just as much as I did. She wouldn't have to know that David was her biological father, let alone have any more contact with him after he had just molested her. A few months before Sofia was born, I broke up with David because the last thing I wanted for her was to grow up assuming it was acceptable for men to treat her the way he treated me because she was so young and innocent and she was way too young to understand rape culture, pedophilia, abusive relationships and substance addiction and it was hard not to worry about her sometimes. She had finished praying and then she pushed the towel covered pillow towards mine and I kissed her forehead.

 **I love Ally's relationship with Sofia and I love that she called Austin Daddy. It melts my heart :') If you like the chapter or the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Love you my readers!**


	18. Chapter 18

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hi guys! Not only is Austin in the hospital in this part of the story, but Ally decides to file a lawsuit against David for assaulting Sofia. I got a review from someone who said that they thought Ally was being insensitive about her daughter's rape, and to be quite honest I didn't see her as being insensitive. Her daughter is just so young and wouldn't understand the concept of molestation. But I do appreciate your feedback :) Anyway, here's Chapter 18 :)**

 **ALLY:**

I was pretty much by myself in the house right now because my mom had taken Sofia with her to her local hair salon to dye and trim her hair and Sofia wanted to come with her. I was looking on the computer for an attorney, and I discovered a man by the name of Brett Williams and I took my cell phone and called his number. He was African-American and he answered in his African-American accent,

"Hello, this is attorney Brett Williams. How can I help you?"

I said,

"Hi, Mr. Williams. My name is Althea Dawson and I need to file a lawsuit against David Shigeta."

He asked,

"What has Mr. Shigeta done to you that you feel he deserves a lawsuit?"

I answered,

"He abducted and molested my six-year-old daughter and posted sexually explicit pictures of him molesting and tormenting her on Instagram, his username being fuckmeup75, and he assaulted my boyfriend by shooting him to the point of being unconscious."

"Do you have his number?"

"Yes, I do."

I told Brett David's number and address and he told me,

"I will contact Mr. Shigeta, and I will email you a court case date. What's your email address?"

I said,

"AltheaDaw84 ."

Brett had said to me,

"I'm terribly sorry you had this experience, Ms. Dawson. But I need to go now because I have some work to do."

I said,

"That's perfectly fine. Thank you for your time. Bye."

After a while, Sofia came home with my mom and she had her small pink poodle backpack on her shoulders and she was holding a stick in her mouth. I asked my child,

"Whatcha got there?"

She yanked the stick out of her mouth, revealing a green lollipop. She stuck out her tongue and said,

"Mommy look! My tongue's green!"

My mom said,

"My hairdresser Christine offered the lollipop to her and she jumped at the opportunity."

I asked my mom,

"Mom, can I see your hair?"

My mom showed me her brown hair that was brought out by blonde highlights, and her hair had only a very small change in length.

"It's nice, Mom. I like it."

She went into the living room and she pulled out a page of a little dog and cat she had colored in. She said,

"I wanna give this to Austin."

I got down to her level and I said to her,

"I'm sure he'll love it, sweetheart. It'll really make him feel good."

"I love him and he loves me, Mommy,"

she said to me.

I said to her,

"Maybe we should laminate it so it doesn't get ruined. We're going to leave in about fifteen minutes to see Austin, OK?"

Sofia said,

"OK."

I took her into my office and laminated the picture and I made sure Sofia had her inhaler. I picked her up, putting her on my hip and got to the hospital with her on my hip. We were in the ICU, where Austin was laying in the bed with the IV nearby and he had the oxygen sensor on his finger, he had the blood pressure cuff on his arm, and he had the oxygen mask with a tube in his throat. Max and Jessica were there, with Piper. Seeing Piper here in the hospital to see Austin brought a smile to face, because it proved that she cared.

My parents were divorced as well, but they still cared for each other. When I was about seventeen, my dad was injured in a car accident by an intoxicated driver (and he still survived) and my mom came to visit him. I embraced Piper, and then Max and Jessica and Piper whispered to me,

"How is he?"

I said,

"I have hope he's going to be OK. When I saw him briefly before he went to go get his screenings, he opened his eyes and squeezed my hand."

I looked at Piper.

"Piper, I have to applaud you for seeing Austin in the hospital. It means that you care for him."

The blonde woman smiled at me.

"Just because I'm not married to Austin anymore doesn't mean I don't care about him. Max and Jessica wanted to see him too, and I think they have the right to because he's their dad. He helped me bring them into this world."

"What about Richard?"

Piper said,

"Richard had a meeting to go to that he couldn't get away from. He's a rich car mogul."

Sofia was looking at Piper and she said,

"Hi."

Piper was saying,

"Hi. Who are you?"

"I'm Sofia."

"How old are you, Sofia?"

Sofia held up six fingers and replied,

"Six." 

"Six?"

"Yeah, I'm six."

I laughed because Sofia was so cute.

"I can see you've met Sofia, my daughter."

"Yeah I have. Max and Jessica have told me about her, too, and Jessica describes her as her little sister."

Jessica picked Sofia up, putting her on her hip. Jessica was saying to her,

"You know, for a six-year-old, you're very light."

Sofia looked at her.

"My mommy still picks me up even though I'm six."

People had mistaken Sofia for a four-year-old a few times. Because she looked more like a four-year-old than a six-year-old. The pretty blonde teenager turned to me, while balancing my daughter on her hip.

"Have you done anything about David?"

I said,

"Yes, I have. Today I contacted a lawyer and he said he'd contact me with a court date."

Jessica said,

"Good. I admire you for protecting yourself, protecting my dad, protecting Sofia and in a way, protecting me and Max."

While still balancing Sofia on her hip, she gave me a side hug. I felt like what had happened to Austin, in a way, had brought me closer to his kids. A man in scrubs and a lab coat that had a thick New York/New Jersey accent walked and projected his voice and asked,

"Is Althea Dawson here?"

I said,

"That's me."

I followed him into the hallway and he said to me,

"Hi, I'm Dr. Caulman. I have some images and ultrasounds we took of your boyfriend."

I asked,

"Can I see them?"

He pulled the pictures from the pocket of his labcoat and showed me.

"Good news is, we know he's going to live. We know his oxygen is slowly coming back and his blood pressure is rising. Also good news is that with the exception of his pancreas and small intestin, no other organ in his body is damaged."

I said,

"That's great."

"Bad news is, the bullet is very deep into his appendix and he runs the risk of losing function in his spine, so he has a possible risk of neurological damage. In order to prevent that, we need to surgically remove the bullet fragments."

"What kind of neurological damage? I'm a RN, I've seen wounds like the one he has before."

"It could possibly paralyze him. But I hope not, for your sake. I have a gastroenterology surgeon on her way, as well as the anesthesiology team."

"OK, great. Thank you, Doctor. Keep me posted on how the surgery goes."

I gave Dr. Caulman my number and I shook his hand and went back in to ICU where Max was propping Sofia up and she kissed Austin on the cheek. Austin opened his eyes again and Sofia latched onto his hand and he held hers. It almost brought tears to my eyes watching my daughter hold his hand and what I heard her say next really made me overwhelmed with emotion. She said to him,

"When you get better, can I have kisses and snuggles and can you hold me? I want you to call me your Princess."

He had free hands and he was able to rub her hair. It made tears run down my cheeks. Max asked me,

"Ally, are you crying?"

I slightly chuckled through my tears of joy.

"Yeah. But I'm not sad. I'm crying because I'm happy."

Jessica came over and she tightly hugged me and Max hugged me, too. Jessica whispered to me,

"I love you, Ally."

Max said,

"I love you, Ally."

I said,

"I love you guys, too."

Right now, I loved Max and Jessica as if I was their own mother. She gave Austin a big kiss on his cheek again and I lifted her up from the bed and I saw her turn to Jessica and Max.

"I love you two. You're like my brother and sister."

The two older kids embraced Sofia and that made my heart melt even more. Back at home, I was giving Sofia a snuggle on the sofa and I asked her,

"Baby girl, did it scare you when Austin had the tube in his throat?"

Sofia answered,

"No, because it reminded me of my breathing treatments."

She crawled onto my lap and snuggled up against me.

"I want him to get better and I want him to hold me and give me cuddles and kisses."

I gave her kisses and snuggles and I smiled, holding her close. I said,

"You know how much I love you right, baby?"

She said,

"Yeah."

 **So how do you guys think Austin's surgery is going to go? Pray everything goes well and that he lives with no complications! I'll also get further into the trial next chapter, hopefully Ally gets the justice that she deserves. If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Love all my fans!**


	19. Chapter 19

**AUSTIN:**

I had woken up in the hospital, one day later. My stomach and back were in pain, but not as much as when Ally's ex-boyfriend fired at me. I looked to the side and Max and Jessica were there, with my parents. My parents came over with my kids and my mom was whispering to me,

"Hi."

I removed my mask and I said,

"Hey, Mom."

My voice was very low and kind of hoarse due to being a little loopy for surgery. My dad was asking,

"Are you OK?"

I said,

"My stomach kinda hurts, but yeah, I'm fine."

Max and Jessica came up either side and I kissed them both on their cheeks.

"Are you kids OK?"

Max told me,

"Yeah, Dad. We're fine. We were at Mom's and I told Grandma and Grandpa about what happened and that you were in surgery and they offered to take us to see you."

My mom was asking,

"How did this happen?"

"You guys know my new girlfriend, Ally?"

"Yeah."

"Her ex-boyfriend had snatched her young daughter and we came over to go get her and he turned out to be armed and he shot me in the stomach."

I heard Jessica say to my Mom,

"I looked him up. He's on the sex offender registry and he's been arrested for a lot of DUIs, drug possession and statutory rape. I saw him on Instagram torturing and molesting Ally's daughter."

I added,

"And you'll never guess who he was- David Shigeta."

My mom gave me a face as if she had just heard a homicide case.

"David Shigeta- as in your old bully?"

"Yeah."

My dad was asking,

"Ally's daughter is safe now, right?"

Max was saying,

"Yeah, Grandpa. She's save. Ally brought her with her yesterday."

My brother Randy had come in, and his eleven-year-old son, Hunter, and his eight-year-old daughter, Emelia. Everyone embracing everyone else. Randy was holding my hand and I said,

"Hey, bro."

"Hey, Austin. How you doing?"

I said,

"I'm OK."

"Amy's sorry she couldn't be here. She's away in New Jersey on business and she's coming back tomorrow night."

Amy was my brother's wife. My niece and nephew were crowding around me, Emelia was saying to me,

"So glad you're OK, Uncle Austin. That scared me."

I gently scooted up and kissed her on the cheek.

"Your uncle's OK."

Hunter was holding my hand, and whispering to me,

"I was horrified by what happened. Will you have to take off work?"

My nephew was correct. I'd have to tell my boss that I needed to take a six week leave of absence. I'd probably have the surgeon tell me that later after my family had gone home. I turned to the twins.

"Max and Jessica, who's been taking care of you while I've been in the hospital?"

Max said,

"We've been at Mom's."

Max and Jessica were thirteen years old, and I hadn't left them with a babysitter since they were ten. Shit, they were old enough to be babysitters. But I still didn't like leaving them alone for more than about four hours. I definitely trusted Piper with the kids. After all, she was their mother.

Later after my family had left, I was laying in bed just watching _Modern Family_ reruns. The doctors wanted to keep me for observation overnight so they could perform tests on me and to make sure I was functioning the way I should. The episode I was watching was the episode where Lily says the F word. I heard a knock at the door and I said,

"Come in."

In walked Dr. Natalie Granik, the gastroenterology surgeon who had performed on me. She was holding a clipboard in her hands.

"Hey, Dr. Granik,"

I said, feeling a little sleepy.

"Hello, Mr. Moon. How are you feeling?"

she asked me, taking the pen from the clipboard. She obviously wanted to take notes.

"I'm a little sleepy and my stomach hurts, but aside from that I'm fine."

"That's great. I'm going to take a few of your vital signs and then I have some information to go over with you."

Dr. Granik stood up from the bed, and she took the stethoscope off from around her neck, the binaural piece and eartips on one shoulder and stem and diaphragm on the other. She told me,

"Sit up."

I sat up and she told me to breathe deeply.

"Your heartbeat and your lungs are normal."

"Let's take your pulse."

She was taking my pulse and she said,

"Your pulse is normal. Let's take your blood pressure."

She took my blood pressure, which was one hundred over eighty.

"Blood pressure is decent. Let's take your temperature."

She took out a thermometer from the tray above my hospital bed and stuck it under my tongue.

"Ninety-eight point six."

She said,

"I talked with your doctor, Richard Grant, and he said to give you this."

Dr. Granik handed me a hospital summary.

"Because the gunshot was in the abdomen, you shouldn't take any oral medicine."

"OK."

"In most cases, removing the bullet can do more harm than good so we can't remove the bullet. But we have removed the fragments of the bullet, which could have done the most harm, had they not been removed."

"Will it paralyze me?"

"No, you'll still be able to move and you can still have a job. You just need to take a leave of absence for about five to six weeks. And the good news is, you can go home tomorrow."

That was good news to me. I had been really missing being at home, and I knew I could find someone to make sure I called to ask for a paid leave.

"You're welcome. Sleep well, and just hit the button if you need anything."

"Thank you, Dr. Granik."

She left the room and I gently stood up from my bed and dialed Max's number. I heard Max say,

"Hello?"

"Max? It's Dad."

"Hey, Dad. How are you feeling?"

"Much better. I get to go home tomorrow."

"Hey, that's great! Jessica and I have been worrying about you a lot. Hell, even Mom's worried about you."

I said,

"Your mom and I split, and she may be with Richard now, but she still cares for me. Anyway, what's up?"

Max said to me,

"Mom's taking a bath and Jessica and I are just watching _Family Guy_ repeats. Or rather _I_ am, she's just painting her nails."

"And you guys aren't fighting?"

He laughed.

"I might fight with her a lot, but that doesn't mean I don't love her. She's my sister."

I almost forgot why I called my son. I remembered and I said,

"Also, before I go, I called to ask- can you ask Ally to give you and your sister a ride, but before she goes to the hospital, just ask her to bring you to my house, and I'd like you to bring a change of clothes for me."

"OK, I can do that."

"Thanks, son. You're the best."

"I know I am."

I laughed

I turned the TV off, because I knew how TV could overstimulate you. I proceeded to read the summary. It told me what to eat, what to do, what not to do and how often to change to change my dressing. Several hours later, I woke up to Ally's hand on mine. Max had a starbucks drink in one hand and he had a black and red _Walking Dead_ bag on his shoulder and Jessica also had a Starbucks in her hand. Ally whispered,

"Hi. How'd your surgery go?"

I said,

"It went great. I talked with the surgeon, and she said that I'm not at risk for anything serious. But I'm gonna need to take a few weeks off of work to recover."

"That's great. If you need anything, just call me, OK?"

Max turned to Ally.

"Can you hold this?"

I asked,

"Where'd you guys get the Starbucks?"

Ally laughed.

"I took them all to the Starbucks."

Max took the bag off of his shoulder and shook the clothes out onto the bed.

"Ally's the best girlfriend you ever had. Besides Mom, of course."

Jessica took a sip from her cup.

"Um, we love her!"

It felt so good to know that my kids liked my girlfriend. Sofia came up and she gave me a kiss on my cheekbone. I whispered,

"Hey, munchkin."

Sofia said to me,

"You OK?"

I said,

"Yeah."

"Please, don't get hurt again, Austin. I love you."

I said,

"I love you more."

Max and Jessica came over and they gave me embraces and Jessica gave me a doughnut and hot chocolate laced kiss while Max breathed a caramel drink and blueberry muffin laced breath on me and kissed me too.

I said,

"I love you kids."

My kids looked at me.

"We love you, too, Dad."

Jessica said to me,

"Because you're recovering from an injury, we're going to do everything we can to help you."

I said,

"You kids are the best."

Sofia gave me that adorable smile that melted my heart everytime I looked at it.

"Me too."

 **I love that Austin healed pretty quickly! And next chapter will be the trial with David and more intimacy between Austin and Ally. Favorite, follow and review if you like the story! Love my readers!**


	20. Chapter 20

**ALLY:**

I had just dropped Austin, Max and Jessica off at their house and I had returned home. I balanced Sofia on one hip and her arms were around my neck.

"Mommy,"

she whispered in my ear.

I looked at her face and she said,

"I'm glad Austin is OK. That scared me when he got hurt even worse than when that guy was touching me when I kept saying stop."

I said,

"Me, too. I'm also glad you're OK. Because I love you and Austin so much."

I said,

"Mom? We're home."

My mom came over.

"Hey, guys."

I put Sofia down and my mom came down to her height.

"Hey, munchkin."

Sofia tightly embraced my mom. She got back to my height and asked me,

"How's Austin?"

"He's much better. He told me on the way back that they can't remove the bullet from his appendix, because it's actually more dangerous to take the bullet out, but it's not going to paralyze him. He had to have his pancreas and small intestine repaired, but he needs to take a leave of absence from his job so he can recover."

My mom and I embraced.

"I'm just glad he's OK."

"Me too. Because when David shot him in the stomach and when he abducted Sofia, those were some of the scariest things I've faced in a long time."

"I know. I filed a lawsuit against David and the trial date could come anyday now."

"Sweetheart, I'll go with you to the trial if I have to. I want you to get the justice you deserve."

"I love you, Mom."

I was getting a call from Brett Williams, the attorney I had contacted the other day. I said,

"Hello?"

"Is this Althea Dawson?"

"Yes, this is she."

"I have a date open for the trial against Mr. Shigeta."

"That's amazing. When is it?"

"The trial date is Friday at 10:00 AM at Dade County District Court. We'll try our hardest to give you the justice you deserve."

I said,

"Thank you."

"Thank you. I'll work hard to give you the justice you deserve."

"Goodbye, Mr. Williams."

"Goodbye, Ms. Dawson."

My mom asked,

"Who was that?"

I said,

"The lawyer I contacted. I told him about what David had done to Austin, and what he did to Sofia. Because David was breaking the law and he needs to be prosecuted."

"How many times has he been in jail?"

"About five times. He needs life in prison at this point."

 **AUSTIN:**

It felt so nice to be home again. I had missed my home and more importantly, I'd missed my kids, my girlfriend and Sofia. It was very cold in the house (even for Miami) and I saw Max, with his Macbook under his arm and a pair of Beats headphones around his neck and he sat down in the armchair that was adjacent to the couch I was laying on. I knew I had to call Jimmy Starr, my boss, about how I was asked to take a leave of absence to recover from my injury, and to be totally honest, I was very trepidatious about it.

I was so anxious about it because outside of a few days I had called in sick and a few days when I had come to work despite being sick and Jimmy had sent me home, I had never taken any longer than three days, let alone weeks, off of work.

I had been a contractor for nine years, and I had called in sick only a few times. I was laying on the couch, and I dialed him.

"Hello?"

"Jimmy, it's Austin."

"Hey, Austin. What's going on?"

I said,

"Um, I need to take a leave of absence for about six weeks. I was shot in the stomach by my girlfriend's ex-boyfriend and I had to have surgery to remove the scraps of the bullet and I was asked to take a few weeks off."

"Take as long as you need off, Austin. If you took a bullet and need to rest, I think contracting may be a dangerous job for you. You could end up having a seizure, you could get hurt from heavy lifting, and you've been working hard. You need a paid leave of absence."

"Thanks, Jimmy."

"You're like my white son, Austin. I care about my employees. I'll still pay you because I know you gotta raise your kids."

"Thanks again, Jimmy. I'll see you again in a few weeks."

We then hung up. Max asked me,

"Dad, who was that you were talking to?"

"Jimmy."

"Jimmy? As in your boss?"

"Yeah, I've gotta take a leave of absence for a few weeks to recover."

"You won't get fired, will you?"

"No, I won't. I'll still be able to support you and your sister."

Max got up from the armchair and my hand intertwined his.

"When Ally gave us the call that you had been shot, it was the scariest thing I've faced in a long time. You were my first teacher, my first male role model and you help me and you love me unconditionally. I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, son."

"What happened to you, brought Jessica and I closer with Ally, and with Sofia, too. Do you think you'll marry her?"

I said,

"I'd want her to marry me. I want to adopt Sofia, too, because the guy who shot me was Sofia's dad."

"He's her _dad_?"

Max asked.

"Yeah. Ally dated him years ago, and she broke up with him because she found out he was cheating on her with teenagers, had drinking and drug problems and ended up on the sex offender registry. He also abducted Sofia, molested her and posted indecent pictures of her on his Instagram."

"Kind of reminds me of Brooke. Except this guy is worse than the girl who stole my ADHD pills."

I said,

"But wait, it gets better. He was my bully from kindergarten up until I was your age. He got expelled from school the night of the Winter Ball when he told this girl I had a crush on that I had AIDS and I was spreading it and he pulled a prank on me that involved me stark naked in front of the entire student body. I'm still traumatized by it to this day."

My son looked at me.

"I hope this assface ends up in jail. For what he's done to you, to Ally and to Sofia. Sofia is so young so something like this is going to mentally damage her."

"Ally already reported him to a trial, and thank christ she did that."

"I love Ally just as much as you do. She's like a second mom to me."

The moment I heard Max say that he thought of Ally like a second mother, tears of happiness welled into my eyes. He giggled and asked me,

"Are you crying?"

"Max, what you just said to me is amazing."

Later I picked up my phone and I went to the Kay website and decided to buy her a necklace and I decided to go out with Ally as soon as I had recovered. She deserved a boyfriend who treated her with more respect than David did and I loved her and Sofia.

 **Ooh… I wonder what the necklace will be for. Next chapter will be the trial against David. Let's hope Ally gets the justice that she deserves.**


	21. Chapter 21

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **This is the chapter with the trial. I really hope Ally will get the justice she deserves because David is a douchebag and deserves life in prison for what he's done to Ally and Sofia and even if she doesn't, little does she know that Austin wants to make her his wife. We all know they're totally meant to be ;) OK, I'm going to shut up and get onto the chapter.**

 **ALLY:**

I was already dressed and showered and I was about to blow my hair dry when Sofia walked in, in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes. I said to her,

"Oh, sorry, Monkey. Did I wake you up?"

Sofia responded,

"No, mama. I was thirsty. I came in here for a drink of water."

Sofia stood up on the little step stool and took her little Tinkerbell toothbrush out of the cup, and filled the cup up with water.

"You look pretty, Mommy."

Hearing my six-year-old say I looked pretty made me feel a little better because I was jumping out of my skin with anxiety and nervousness.

"Thank you, Sofia."

"Mommy has to go to court today."

When I came out of the bathroom after doing my hair and makeup, she was laying on the den sofa under a blanket and she had a few of her stuffed animals with her and she was watching _Elena of Avalor_ on the sofa. I went over to the couch and I said,

"I'll be back in a few hours. Grandma will be with you. Stay out of trouble."

"Yes, Mommy."

"I love you,"

I whispered and I kissed her on the cheek. She gave me a kiss on mine, too. I headed out of the door, and I got to Brett Williams's office. I knocked on the door and I saw an African American man and when I met him, I felt like a child in trouble. I asked him,

"Excuse me? Are you Brett Williams?"

He said,

"Yes, I am."

"I'm Althea Dawson,"

I shook his hand.

"You must be my client today?"

"I am."

"You're beautiful."

"Thank you."

I entered the courtroom and approached the witness stand. I was looking at him and all these horrific flashbacks were playing in my head.

 ***FLASHBACK. Six and a half years ago***

I was in my second, leading up to my third trimester of my pregnancy with Sofia. I had just walked in from a long meeting and I had said,

"David? I'm home."

No answer, but I looked by the door and I found a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey. I walked in and I found a girl with blonde hair and dark ash blonde highlights who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old and they were kissing. The teenager he was making out with was clearly mortified and covered up her breast area of her topless chest with her arm.

"What the hell is going on in here?"

I asked. The teenager looked at him and said,

"David! I thought you were single!"

He breathed in her face.

"And you're drunk too. I'm getting the fuck out of here!"

The teenager had scrambled to her feet and covered her breasts while looking for her bra. She thrust on her cheetah print bra and then her tank top and camisole, which was an undershirt, revealing a large amount of her D-cup cleavage and scrambled out of the apartment as if there were a hurricane coming.

 ***FLASHBACK. Also six and a half years ago***

I was very angry with David upon walking into our room and finding a half-empty bottle of whiskey, five bags of cocaine and a bag of marijuana. I asked,

"David, have you been using…"

David was starting to get aggressive with me and he screamed,

"BITCH! YOU ARE NOT MY FUCKING MOTHER! I CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT!"

I was very scared because it was pretty obvious the drugs were making him aggressive and angry. He had started to grab my shoulders and then he shoved me to the floor. Ever since I told him I was pregnant, things had changed. About five weeks before Sofia was born, I kicked him out and he had been arrested for statutory rape and DUIs. I didn't ever want Sofia to grow up thinking it was OK for men to treat her the way David treated me, or to abuse drugs or become addicted to alcohol like he was.

In the last flashback, it was of those videos Jessica had showed me on David's Instagram of him molesting Sofia while she was crying and repeatedly telling him to stop.

 ***FLASHBACK ENDS***

It was haunting me and it wasn't a pleasant feeling how I had just been mentally reminded of how my ex had abducted my daughter, raped her and psychologically tortured her. The judge asked,

"Ms. Dawson, what exactly are you trying Mr. Shigeta against?"

"I am trying him for abducting, molesting and posting pornographic pictures of my six-year-old daughter."

The judge asked,

"Mr. Shigeta, did you kidnap Ms. Dawson's young daughter to get a rise from her?"

"Yes, I did."

"Are you aware that Ms. Dawson's daughter is your daughter, because you impregnated her with her child? Are you aware of that as well?"

"No, I wasn't."

"Now that I'm getting a clear look at your file, you have had many charges for drug possession, as well as statutory rape and DUIs. Guilty or not guilty?"

"Guilty."

"You have had criminal charges for rape and DUIs, and you are on the sex offender registry."

He slammed the gavel and announced,

"David Shigeta, you are guilty of statutory rape, DUIs, child pornography and because of that, you have life in prison."

I watched as the police handcuffed him and he was giving me a dirty look as he was being taken into custody. I smiled victoriously while leaving the court room and driving home and I said,

"Hello?"

Sofia came up, and she was now in her clothes and she had some kind of sticky substance all over her face and she was saying,

"Mommy! Mommy!"

I said to her,

"Hi, baby girl. You smell like syrup."

"That's because grandma made french toast!"

"You have the best grandma ever,"

I said.

"I know."

My mom came over and she hugged me and whispered,

"Hey, Ally. How did the trial go?"

"I won the case. David's had charges before."

My mom hugged me tightly and said,

"I knew you'd get the justice you deserved."

Later I got a FaceTime call from Austin. I said,

"Hey, babe."

"Hi, Ally. You look beautiful."

"Thank you, I love you."

"I love you more."

"How's your stomach?"

"Still kinda hurts, but not nearly as bad as before. How'd the trial go?"

"That's great to hear. David got life in prison. In other words, I got justice."

"You deserve justice. You're an amazing woman, just as beautiful inside as you are on the outside, you're a great career woman, a great mother and a great girlfriend. I love you to the moon and back."

"I love you even further."

I saw Sofia walk in and she crawled up next to me. I said,

"Hi, baby. Look who I'm talking to!"

Sofia's brown eyes lit up as she saw Austin's face. Austin's lit up, too.

"Hey, munchkin!"

He said as he saw Sofia.

"Austin!"

"How you doing, munchkin?"

"I'm glad you're OK. I really, really miss you, Austin."

"I miss you too, Sofia. When I recover, we've gotta see each other again. Maybe you and your mom can do something with Max, Jessica and I."

I asked my boyfriend,

"Do you need any help with cooking or cleaning while you're bed-ridden? I can come over and make dinner and help keep your house clean."

Austin laughed.

"Not to reinforce any gender stereotypes, but that would be great."

I giggled.

"And the princess wants to see you again,"

I lifted Sofia up, putting my hands under her arms and wrapping my fingers around her ribcage, and I lifted her onto my lap. I had free hands because I had my phone, where I was FaceTiming with Austin, on a little phone stand. I gave my daughter a kiss on her cheek and she started giggling, and hearing her laugh made my heart melt.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **The story will probably have another chapter or two, and then conclude. I hope you guys had a happy halloween! I myself am very anxious for November because my 19th birthday is coming up (Oh my god it's my last year of my teens. I can't believe it) and also** _ **My Friend Dahmer**_ **is coming out (I can't believe Ross has gone from playing that adorable, talented, pancake-loving goober Austin Moon to playing a murder and serial killer. More work will be on the way, I promise ;) ;) :) I'm going to go see Thor: Ragnarok with a friend tomorrow and I'm excited for that. If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Have a great day, love and hugs for all my fans!**


	22. Chapter 22

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Like Chapter 11 and Chapter 16, this chapter will be told from the perspective of Austin's daughter, Jessica Moon, because in this chapter of the story, Jessica and Max will be babysitting Sofia while Ally is out with Austin. A little change in plans- Austin's not going to propose just yet, because him and Ally have only known each other for a while and I didn't want to rush things. Instead, I'm going to have him give her a beautiful necklace instead. Sorry to disappoint you guys. Anyway, here's the story!**

 **JESSICA:**

I was on my phone checking my Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and I saw my dad putting a gold necklace with an intertwining heart charm in a small blue box. I asked,

"Dad, that's a very pretty necklace. Is that for Ally?"

He put the small box in the pocket of his blazer and he said,

"It is. Ally deserves the best. I'm taking her out to dinner and I'm going to give it to her because I wanna pay her back for helping keep house and watching you kids."

I laughed.

"Well, aren't you sexist, making your girlfriend cook and clean the house and watch Max and me. Besides, Max and I outgrew having a babysitter about two years ago anyway."

Dad rolled his eyes.

"I didn't ask Ally to come over and cook and clean because I'm sexist. I needed help because the doctor said I wasn't lift anything heavy and chores often involve heavy lifting."

I giggled.

"Relax, Dad. I'm messing with you."

I could also smell something sweet coming from my dad.

"Dad, also, what's in your hair? It smells like Mom's bathroom."

My dad laughed.

"Thanks. I got my hair cut today because it's been a while since I got it cut. The guy who cuts my hair applied hair gel when he cut it."

I smiled.

"I just hope Sofia doesn't react to it."

"I doubt she's gonna have a reaction to my hair. Ally's gonna be here in about ten minutes to drop Sofia off and then we're gonna go get dinner."

I was kind of excited to babysit Sofia, because besides Alanna's younger sister, Isabella, she was like the little sister I never had. I loved Max, despite the fact that he was annoying and disgusting, but I had always wanted a sister. Max and I got to play with Sofia when Ally was taking care of our dad and after Dad been hospitalized, Max and I felt closer to Ally and Sofia. My brother came into the living room and he was smiling at my dad.

"You excited to go out with Ally, Dad?"

"Yeah. I always love to see her. She's my girlfriend."

Max asked,

"What are we having for dinner?"

"There are those leftover spare ribs in the fridge and some vegetables that I thought you guys could have."

I heard the doorbell ring and I answered it. Ally was balancing Sofia on her hip and she had a pale pink, slightly off the shoulder lace dress with long sleeves that went up to her knees and she had nude colored high heels on and pearl earrings. She had just the right amount of makeup on and she looked so beautiful. I said,

"Hi, Ally. Hey, Sofia."

Ally put Sofia down and she embraced me.

"You excited for Max and I to watch you?"

"Yeah."

I came down to her height and brought up the tone of my voice.

"You, Max and me are gonna have so much fun!"

She followed me to the living room where my dad was and she was so excited to see him. She was saying,

"Austin!"

when she saw him. That girl was like a koala bear when she saw people she loved, but what the hell did I care? She loved people and it was adorable. My dad came down to Sofia's height and he said to her,

"Hi, munchkin!"

She gave him a kiss on his cheek and hugged him.

"I've really missed you a lot,"

She was saying to him.

"I've missed you a lot, too."

"I love you, Austin."

"I love you too, Sofia."

I took Sofia into the other room to join Max and me so that Dad could go find Ally and greet her. She was saying,

"Max!"

Max slightly chuckled in the young six-year-old's presence and she climbed up onto the couch and snuggled right beside him. He was saying in his voice that was gradually lowering,

"Hey, munchkin."

She was saying,

"Your voice is different!"

He laughed.

"It's because of puberty. It's gonna happen to you, too, in about four or five years."

Dad and Ally came in, his arm was around her. My dad was saying,

"We're leaving now. Dinner's in the fridge, and Jessica, you and Max have both Ally's and my numbers, call one of us if there's an emergency and also there's a list of phone numbers in the kitchen. We'll be home by eight thirty, between eight-thirty and nine."

Ally was walking towards Sofia and she said,

"You be good and have fun with Max and Jessica, Missy miss."

She kissed her daughter on the forehead and Sofia said to her mom,

"Mommy, I'm always good."

"Yes you are."

Our parents exited the house and twenty minutes after Dad left I asked Sofia,

"Sofia, do you want dinner now?"

Sofia said,

"OK."

I went into the and I was about to put the food in the microwave oven when I smelled a very nasty odor. An odor even worse than Max's gym bag after he came home from wrestling practice everyday. I heard a slight hissing sound. The young child came in, looking a little apprehensive.

"Jessica? Is there a snake in the house?"

I got down to her level and I said,

"Don't worry, there's no snake in the house."

But then she started coughing and wheezing and it was starting to scare me.

"Sofia? Are you having an asthma attack?"

I put my ear up to her chest and her heart was beating at a very fast rate. She managed to wheeze out,

"Can't… breathe…"

I asked her,

"Do you have your inhaler on you?"

She took her small colorful purse with a puppy and kitten off of her shoulder and she pulled her inhaler, attached to a spacer, shook it and breathed into it, but unfortunately the inhaler wasn't working. Sofia was continuing to cough and sputter and wheeze. Max came in and he asked me,

"What's going on with Sofia?"

I lifted the coughing child up onto my hip and my brother started to cough a bit, too.

"Also, why does it stink so bad in here?"

I was still balancing Sofia on one hip.

"I think there's a gas leak in the house. Max, quickly, open every door and window in the house and then get the H-E double hockey sticks out of here."

 **Oh my god that's so scary! I hope Sofia, Max and Jessica are all OK. The suspense is even killing me and I'm the one writing the story. Also, my 19th birthday is on Saturday and I'm very excited for it! If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review! Love you my readers!**


	23. Chapter 23

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hi guys! Shoutouts to VAdarkwind and Ross's Juliet- thanks for the birthday wish! My birthday was so dope. I can't believe it's my last year of my teens- but don't worry, this inner child isn't going anywhere. Anyway, here's the next chapter of** _ **My family, your family**_ **. The story will probably have one more Chapter and then I'll conclude the story after that. But don't worry, it'll have a happy ending :). That's it for the disclaimer. Enjoy this chapter!**

 **ALLY:**

The date was going really well so far. We were at a place called Truluck's that had lots of great reviews and I heard had good seafood. I had ordered Fresh Florida Stone Crab Claws and a Sonoma Greens Salad and he had ordered Shrimp cocktail and a house chopped salad. He had a bottle of Bud Light and I had a Sangria. Austin was grinning at me, sitting right across from me.

I asked him,

"Now what are you staring at?"

with a giggle. He chuckled.

"You. Because you're beautiful."

I chuckled.

"Oh, stop!"

"How can I? You're gorgeous. Which reminds me-"

He reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled out a small blue box.

"This is for you. I wanted to thank you for how helpful you've been, when I was healing."

I gasped and I asked him,

"What's in the box?"

"The only way to find out is to open it, silly."

I opened the box and I saw a really beautiful intertwining gold necklace. I said,

"It's so beautiful."

"You're beautiful, and you deserve the best."

I put on the necklace and I said,

"Thank you, Austin."

We leaned in to kiss when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I saw it was Jessica. I said,

"So sorry, Ally. It's Jessica."

Ally giggled,

"Now I'm getting a text message from Max, funny enough."

I said,

"Hi, Jessie. What's going on?"

My daughter sounded extremely panicky on the phone.

"Dad! There was a gas leak in the house, and it gave Sofia an asthma attack!"

I said,

"What? Jessica, did you evacuate?"

Jessica said,

"Yeah, we evacuated and Max called 911."

Ally gave me a face like she'd just seen a ghost.

"According to this text from Max, Sofia had an asthma flare up."

She said,

"And he sent me a follow up text message saying her inhaler didn't work."

I asked,

"Where are you and Max with Sofia now?"

Jessica said,

"We're at South Miami hospital, we just got admitted and we're in the Emergency ward, watching over her. I know you're on a date with Ally, but you need to go to the hospital right now."

Austin said,

"OK, we will. Just give us forty-five minutes and we'll be there."

"Love you, sweetheart."

We just took the food in take-home boxes and Ubered to the hospital. I called Max, and I asked him,

"Max, where are you, Jessica and Sofia?"

Max told me,

"We're in the emergency ward. Jess and I are watching over her."

"OK, we'll be there in about ten seconds."

Austin and I both were outside the emergency ward and we entered, where Max and Jessica were standing either side of the bed Sofia was in. Her eyes were closed and she had a nebulizer attached to her nose and mouth. The twins both hugged us, and Austin whispered,

"How is she?"

Max said,

"She's kind of drowsy, all we can do right now is pray."

Jessica said to me,

"I hope she's OK. Stuff like this is especially scary when it happens to kids as young as Sofia is."

I went over to the bed where my young child was lying. I gently latched onto her hand and I whispered,

"Hi, princess."

Sofia slowly opened her large brown doe eyes, immediately gaining cognizance of me. She latched onto my hand. I whispered to her,

"You OK?"

She slowly nodded her head. I proceeded to rub her hair, and I whispered,

"Mommy's right here, Sofia. OK?"

She nodded and gripped my hand tightly. I felt a traumatic memory hit me like a ton of bricks.

 _ *****_ **FLASHBACK. Six years ago** _ *****_

I was in the delivery room, laying in the bed. I had been carrying little Sofia Rose Dawson in the womb for the last almost thirty-six weeks, and she had been born four weeks premature. I looked at her, while she was hooked up to a machine that kept track of her heart rate and breathing rate. I was having a hard time not crying, because the nurses who'd delivered her told me told me that they didn't think she would survive, and that was incredibly demoralizing for me. The words, "We don't think she has a very good chance of survival," were probably the eleven most horrible words I had heard in a long time.

I had started to cry after I had heard those words. My mother was right by me, and she had whispered to me,

"I know, it hurts."

I sniffled and whispered in a perfect library voice,

"I just want her to be OK."

I wiped my tears on the back with all my fingers except for my thumb. My mom embraced me and hugged me and whispered,

"I know you do. I know you do."

She kissed me on the cheek. My mom was right by the time Sofia was ten weeks old. She had survived, and she didn't have any complications- no cerebral palsy, no brain damage, she wasn't deaf, she wasn't blind, or she didn't face any other complications. Although she was a very late walker, not walking until a little after her second birthday. But when she was diagnosed with asthma a few months after turning two, it trembled my confidence again.

She had been to the ER a few times, and I only took her if she had a severe asthma attack, which thankfully wasn't too often. Dr. Gutierrez liked to see Sofia once every three months, and Sofia also had a respiratory therapist, Dr. Bennett Summers. He liked to see her once a month, and he was the one who recommended the daily treatments.

 ***FLASHBACK ENDS***

I kissed Sofia on her forehead and she detached the mask from her nose and mouth. Austin came over and he whispered,

"Hi, munchkin."

Sofia gently rubbed her eyes.

"Hi, Austin,"

she said drowsily. He asked her,

"You OK?"

She said,

"Yeah. I don't like having asthma."

"I know, baby girl. Having asthma isn't fun, but don't you let it stop you from what you want to do in your life."

I watched him give her a kiss on her forehead. She said,

"OK."

Austin went back to his kids, and he asked them,

"So, Sofia's trigger this time was a gas leak?"

Jessica said,

"Yeah, I was about to heat up dinner when I heard a hissing sound and I smelled a horrible odor. It smelled worse than Max's laundry."

Max made a face at her and he made a mocking nonsense sound. She mimicked the same tone. Austin asked,

"Did you guys evacuate the house?"

Max said,

"We did. We didn't know if there was anything else to do because Sofia's asthma was acting up and we thought we should get her to a hospital as soon as possible because her inhaler wasn't working to help her breathe."

I heard Austin say,

"Besides me or Ally, did you call anyone?"

Jessica answered,

"No, we didn't."

Austin said,

"Take out your phone, and dial this number- 1-800-427-5325."

I heard Jessica talking to the gas leak company, and then after ten minutes, she got off the phone. Austin asked his daughter,

"What did the gas leak company say?"

Jessica replied,

"They're gonna be at our house very soon."

I picked Sofia up out of the bed, balancing her on one hip. I asked Max and Jessica,

"Max, Jessica, do you guys have somewhere to stay in case they have to inspect the house?"

Jessica said,

"I can call Alanna or her mom."

"What about you, Max?"

Max said,

"I can stay at my friend Justin's house overnight."

I turned to Austin.

"You can stay at my house."

"Thanks, Ally. I love you."

"I love you, too."

I kissed his cheek, and he kissed mine. I heard Jessica say,

"Hi, Alanna. It's Jessica. Sorry it's so short notice, but I was wondering if I could come over to sleep at your house tonight. There was a gas leak at my dad's house."

"Thanks, you're the best."

 **I just hope Austin's house is OK! Again, thanks for the birthday wishes everyone! I can't believe I'm in my last year of my teens. If you like the story remember to favorite, follow and review! Love you guys.**


	24. Chapter 24

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hi guys! I wanted to put out that the next Chapter after this one, will be the final chapter. It'll have a happy ending, I promise ;) After all, doesn't every story have a happy ending? I like this story as much as you do, but it can't go on forever. OK, that's it for the disclaimer. Enjoy this chapter!**

 **ALLY:**

I came back home, Austin held the door open for me while I was holding Sofia on one hip, and when we entered my house, I put her down, where she went to go find her grandmother. My mom rose from the sofa and she said,

"Hi, sweetie. You're home early."

Austin said,

"Yeah. We had to cut the date short. My twins were babysitting Sofia, and then my daughter contacted me saying there was a gas leak in the house and it gave Sofia an asthma attack."

"Are the kids OK?"

I said,

"Yeah, they're fine. Max and Jessica brought Sofia to the hospital because her inhaler wasn't working. I'll call her pediatrician tomorrow."

My mom turned to my boyfriend.

"Who's watching your kids?"

Austin said,

"I just had them call their friends and ask if they could sleep over. If there's an emergency, I either have them go to Piper, my ex-wife's house, or they go to friends' houses."

My mom asked,

"How old are they?"

"They're thirteen."

I laughed.

"Funny enough, Mom, Austin's daughter is friends with Trish's oldest daughter."

My mom laughed. Austin said,

"Yeah, Trish's husband and I are good friends."

She said,

"I'm sorry you guys couldn't finish your date."

I said,

"You know what, Mom? At this point, I'm just glad Sofia's OK, and I'm also glad Jessica and Max are OK."

Austin put his arm around me.

"Me too."

We kissed companionably. I said,

"I'm going to change into pajamas real fast. If you want to give Sofia her breathing treatment, her nebulizer is in the hall closet."

Austin said,

"OK."

I went into my room and changed into my pajamas, white folded collar pajamas with black lining and I took my makeup and jewelry off and slipped on my slippers. I came back into the den, where Austin was holding the nebulizer under his arm and he was bringing up his voice and he said,

"Put this on your face."

Sofia was in her white, black and red Minnie Mouse pajamas, and she had one of her throw blankets on her shoulders and she put the mask on her nose and mouth and started to inhale and exhale. Austin asked me,

"How long does she normally breathe?"

I said,

"I take her to a respiratory therapist once a month, and he recommends she breathes into it twenty minutes, once or twice a day."

I set the alarm for twenty minutes on my phone. While my daughter was breathing into the machine, I snuggled up next to Austin. He kissed my cheekbone, and caressed my face. His hands were as soft as a baby's ass. He whispered,

"You're beautiful."

I whispered,

"You're so sweet,"

And I planted a kiss on his cheek. I loved Austin so much. He was the best beau I probably had ever had. After breaking up with David and emancipating Sofia from him before she was even born because after he found out I was pregnant with her, he'd become very hostile towards me and then he started committing crimes, I had been on a few dates with guys here and there, and they were nice guys, but I just didn't feel any chemistry with them. Of course, in unconcealed contrast to my feelings for Austin.

I had been so focused on my job and raising my daughter that I really didn't pay much attention to my dating life. Of course, I still had time with friends and me time, and my mom and I co-raised Sofia, but I had Austin and he was the person I'd been in search of my whole life. What I always felt guilty about was the fact that Sofia didn't have a father figure. Now she did.

We kissed again and I said,

"I think I wanna let her stay up a little longer and then after she goes down, we can get into my bed and watch a movie or something."

Austin said,

"I like that idea."

Sofia was done with her breathing treatment twenty minutes later and my heart melted when she went over to Austin, and I saw him lift her up and she was nuzzling into his chest. One hand was on the back of her head and all his fingers spread out, and the other hand was gently stroking her back.

"Aw, you're so cuddly,"

I heard him whisper.

She said to him,

"I love snuggles."

I giggled as I watched my daughter nuzzle closer into my boyfriend's chest. Austin had been cuddling her for about a half hour and she fell asleep against his chest. I whispered,

"I'm going to put her in bed and then we can watch a movie or something."

He said,

"OK."

Sofia was a very heavy sleeper so I was pretty confident I wouldn't wake her up and I gently lifted her from Austin's arms and carried her into her room, tucking her into bed. I closed her door and I whispered,

"We can go watch that movie now."

We went into my room and I turned on the lamp on my nightstand and Austin stripped everything but his underwear off, so I was just looking at him shirtless. I said,

"Come in, Mr. hot abs."

He snuggled me in my bed and I asked him,

"What do you think we should watch?"

He whispered,

"Not to sound pervy, but I'm the mood for some porn."

I laughed.

"Porn it is. _Jackass The Movie_?"

He said,

"I love _Jackass._ Is it bad that I let Max and Jessica watch _Jackass_?"

I said,

"They're teenagers, so it's OK. But the most mature TV show I've ever let Sofia get a glimpse of is _The Simpsons_. I just watch my shows on my laptop or when she's in bed."

Austin scoffed.

"Please, Ally, a nine-year-old could watch _The Simpsons._ By the time the twins were ten, they were growing out of Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network only diets."

I turned on _Jackass The Movie_ and we were both laughing at all the crazy stunts, I think my personal favorite was the stunt with some guy putting a toy car in a condom and sticking it up his ass, or when a baby alligator bit a guy's nipple. It was probably the movie outrageous thing I had ever seen, and I had seen _Sausage Party_. After the movie, I felt kind of turned on and Austin looked so turned on by me. I asked,

"Wanna have sex?"

He said,

"Count me in."

I whispered,

"We'll have sex in a minute."

I opened the small drawer to the nightstand and opened a package of female condoms. He said with a dirty smile on his face,

"Ooh, Althea Dawson, you are a dirty woman. I like it."

I giggled as I unbuttoned the shirt of my pajamas and threw it on the floor, revealing a pink lace bra. Austin looked at my rack from bra and he gave me a big smile. I let him unbuckle it and throw it on the floor, and we were both completely in the raw. I had the condom in my slit and we were bonking and banging until we were exhausted.

 **AUSTIN:**

Ally and I were in her bed, and neither of us had a stitch on. I kissed the side of her head and I whispered,

"You're so pretty."

She giggled.

"Thank you."

I whispered in her ear,

"Last night was fun."

She said,

"Yes I agree. But we should probably get some clothes on before Sofia comes in."

"Yeah. She's six. We don't want to scar her for the rest of her life."

Ally got back in her underwear and pajamas and I put my clothes back on. We went into the living room, where Sofia was laying on the couch, watching TV. Ally whispered,

"Hi, baby,"

"Hi, Mommy,"

I heard Sofia say, and Ally planted a soft kiss on her forehead. I came over and I said,

"Hey, Sofia."

Sofia whispered,

"Hi, Austin."

Sofia came up to me and I picked her up, putting her on one hip and she nuzzled her head between my jaw and my shoulder. I asked her,

"What's that you're watching on TV?"

" _Tangled_."

"When my daughter Jessica was about your age, she saw the movie four times in the theatre."

That was true. Jessica was about six years old, she saw it four times. First it was with Dillons, then Piper and I took her, then my parents, Mike and Mimi, took her and then Piper's parents, Tim and Blythe, took her (Piper's parents lived in Los Angeles where Piper was born and raised but she moved to Miami right before tenth grade). Jessica also went as Rapunzel for Halloween for two years in a row.

Sofia kissed me on the lips and I laughed.

"Thank you,"

I said.

She said,

"You're welcome."

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this Chapter! One more chapter left until the end of the story. Favorite, follow and review if you like the story! Love you my readers!**


	25. Chapter 25

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hi guys! Yeah, this is the final Chapter of the story. I love the story as much as you guys do, but it's time to end the story here. But don't worry- there's gonna be a happy ending. Because every story has a happy ending. OK, that's the end of the disclaimer, enjoy the final chapter of** _ **My family, your family**_ **!**

 **ALLY:**

Sofia was sitting on the exam table of her pediatrician, Dr. Martina Gutierrez. I had interviewed her once Sofia was thriving and I loved her. She was easy to admire, because she was a hispanic woman working in a STEM field. It was hard to find women in STEM fields, let alone women who were asian, black or latina/hispanic. She was saying to my daughter,

"Take a big breath in."

Sofia took a large breath in as Dr. Gutierrez listened to her lungs with the stethoscope.

"Muy bien, princesa. One more."

She breathed again as her doctor was listening to her chest with her stethoscope. Granted she didn't have them often, but when Sofia had a severe asthma attack or when she had a cold, I always talked to her doctor. She put the stethoscope back around her neck and asked me,

"What exactly happened that gave her an asthma attack?"

I said,

"I was with my new boyfriend, and his kids were babysitting her, and there was a gas leak in the house that triggered her asthma. She tried her inhaler but her inhaler didn't work. I thought you could get a better look at it."

I handed her Sofia's inhaler and spacer with her salbutamol. The hispanic doctor studied the salbutamol and said,

"It has expired. I can prescribe her some more, and you should get her more."

"Do you think she should try albuterol?"

"It comes with some risks- like she may get headaches, she may get dizzy more easily, or her blood pressure may raise to an unsafe level. Most doctors don't recommend albuterol for children under six, but I don't recommend albuterol for children under twelve."

"OK."

Sofia let out a few coughs. Dr. Gutierrez turned to her.

"I hope you're staying hydrated, mija."

Sofia asked her,

"What does that mean?"

Dr. Gutierrez laughed.

"It means I hope you're drinking enough water."

"Yeah I drink a lot of water."

"Good."

I saw her look at Sofia's health reciept.

"For now she's up to date on her shots and she's been a very good patient."

She reached over to a cabinet and took a basket with stickers out. Sofia took out a sticker and she picked up her pink Disney Princess backpack with Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Jasmine and Snow White from the corner of the exam room and I held her hand and walked in the hall to go home, I asked,

"Can I see the sticker you got?"

Sofia showed me the sticker she had. It was one with Ariel on it.

"Wow, you got one with your favorite princess on it."

She giggled.

"Yeah."

Sofia loved Disney Princess and Ariel was her favorite. In fact, she loved not just Disney Princess, but Disney in general. She also had a real soft spot for Shopkins, Lego Friends, The Powerpuff Girls Reboot, Barbie and Hello Kitty. Granted what I was into when I was Sofia's age drastically contrasted with what she was into, but (for the most part) that wasn't a bad thing. I came home from the pharmacy with my daughter's medicine and she went to go play and I got a call from Austin.

I was starting to act like some lovestruck thirteen-year-old getting a call from her crush. I giggled and I said,

"Hi, Austin."

He said,

"Hey, Ally. I have something I want to ask you. Are you free on Friday night?"

I said,

"Yeah, I am."

"How's Sofia?"

I said,

"Sofia's fine. I took her to the doctor today and she gave her some more medicine, and as we speak, she's laying on her stomach on her floor playing with her toys."

My boyfriend laughed.

"Anyway, what did you have in mind in terms of a date?"

Austin said,

"I thought we could go to Tootsie's Cabaret and watch exotic dancers. What do you say?"

I went into my room because I didn't want Sofia knowing what a stripper was until she was at least eleven years old (five more years) and I said,

"I say yes. But do you wanna know a secret?"

"Sure."

"I've never been to a strip club or a brothel in my life."

Austin said,

"Damn, mama. I'd like your first time to be with me."

"There's no one else I'd rather watch scantily clad women with than my boyfriend."

I giggled.

"You have one dirty mind, Austin Moon."

He giggled.

"Thanks, Ally. I'll come get you around six thirty or seven and then we can see those strippers."

Not that I didn't trust Max and Jessica with Sofia, I just decided to leave her with my mom when I went out on Friday. My mom came home around five o'clock, and I was very excited. I heard Sofia say,

"Grandma!"

My mom said,

"Hi, munchkin!"

My mother and daughter were giving each other lots of kisses and hugs and my mom said to me,

"Hi, sweetheart. You seem very excited tonight."

I said,

"I am. On Friday, Austin and I are going to go on a makeup date."

"Fun. What are you two love muffins gonna do?"

I said,

"Cover her ears."

My mom covered Sofia's ears and I said,

"Austin is taking me to see strippers."

"Strippers? As in women who dance with their clothes off on poles?"

I said,

"Yes, mother. But I'm OK with it. You can uncover her ears now."

My mother lifted her hands off Sofia's ears.

"I hope you and Austin have fun. I'll watch this one on Friday while you're out."

She was blatantly talking about Sofia.

"If Grandma is gonna watch me, who's gonna watch Max and Jessica?"

I laughed.

"You're so cute. Max and Jessica are teenagers, they don't need a babysitter. They're old enough to _be_ babysitters."

"I just hope they're OK."

"I think they'll be fine."

 **AUSTIN:**

Friday couldn't have come a moment too soon. My house survived the gas leak, but I felt like selling the house because I wanted to ask Ally to move in with me and my current house just wasn't big enough. I wanted to wake up to see her gorgeous face every single morning. In fact, I was gonna double surprise her (well, triple if you count the date) and I wanted to tell her once we moved in together, I wanted to take in Sofia. Sofia was so young, and her real father molested her and left her before she was even born, and I thought she deserved a father to love her, protect her, nurture her and give her a safe home. Because I loved her like she was my own daughter.

Max, sitting on his ass on the couch using his laptop, asked me,

"What are you gonna do with Ally?"

I said,

"I'm gonna go take her to see strippers."

"Can I go with you? I wanna see those hot women up close."

"Sorry, Max, but a strip club is no place for a thirteen-year-old. But not only am I going to be treating her, but I'm going to ask her to move in with me. That's why I'm selling the house. Because if her and Sofia are gonna move in, we're gonna need a bigger house. Especially if I marry Ally, and if we have kids together."

"That makes perfect sense."

"I also plan on legally adopting Sofia. She deserves someone to call Daddy."

"Aww."

I clutched the folder with the adoption papers and the box with the key where I would ask her to move in with me. I went into the car and I went to get her, where she was standing outside waiting for me. She got into my car and I said,

"Hey, babe."

I kissed her cheek and I said,

"You look beautiful."

She giggled.

"Thank you."

Once we got to the strip club, we had ordered food and I said,

"I have something to tell you- I'm selling my house."

Ally looked concerned, as if I had just told her I had cancer.

"Why are you selling your house?"

"Because it's too small, if we're gonna move in together. Althea Marie Dawson, will you move in with me? I wanna wake up to see your beautiful face every morning, and I want to adopt Sofia and raise her as my own daughter."

She giggled.

"I gladly accept. I'd love to move in with you, and I think Sofia deserves a father figure, and I'd really love it if it was you."

 **SIX MONTHS LATER**

I was in the courthouse with Ally, Max, Jessica and Sofia, and the judge was said,

"Congratulations, Sofia Rose. The adoption of you, by Austin Michael Moon, has been granted."

The entire audience was clapping as I picked Sofia up, and I said to her,

"I'm officially your dad."

She clung on to me and she said,

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too."

I kissed her on the cheek and she kissed my cheek. She went over to Max and Jessica and she said,

"Now I have a brother and a sister, too!"

I was crying tears of joy and Ally was, too. I put my arm around her and we kissed passionately.

 **That was the end of the story. I told you there'd be a happy ending ;). I hope you guys liked it! Stay tuned in case there's a sequel *seals lips*.**


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